Israel Slaps a Night Curfew on 650,000 Arabs in Gaza : 3,000 Jews Unaffected by Order

The army imposed a nightly curfew on the densely populated Gaza Strip today in one of the toughest security measures yet during three months of Palestinian rioting in the occupied territories.

The decision to close the desperately poor, 28-mile-long strip of land along the Mediterranean was made by senior Israeli military officials after more than 200 Arab policemen quit their jobs today.

The Gaza officers joined colleagues in the West Bank in the resignations triggered by threats on their lives from leaders of the Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories.

The order will place all 650,000 Gaza residents under house arrest every night between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., when many residents begin leaving for work in Israel. The 3,000 Jewish settlers living in Gaza are not affected by the curfew.

Severe Step

The curfew was one of the most severe steps taken by the army since bloody anti-Israel riots erupted in the occupied territories Dec. 9. At least 89 Palestinians have been killed since the unrest began.

The military has previously imposed curfews for weeks at a time on individual villages and U.N. refugee camps.

The new measure was designed “to prevent the entrance of extremist agitators who threaten the lives of residents,” state-run Israel Radio said.

All entrances to Gaza, which is cut off from Israel by barbed wire and army checkpoints, will be closed during the nightly five-hour curfew. An army source told the radio that authorities hope to prevent the entrance of leaflets and other protest materials.

700 Arabs Quit Force

Palestinian and police sources indicated that more than 700 of the 1,000 Arab police officers in Gaza and the West Bank have quit their jobs since the death threats began last week. The Arab officers perform routine police duties, including patrol and criminal investigations but are not involved in security or political cases.

Many officials expressed fears that the walkout would lead to a breakdown of law and order in the territories.

“If there are no policemen or few policemen, criminals will have a field day and the lives of West Bank residents will become harsher,” said Abdel Rahman Abu Sanina, mayor of the West Bank town of Kalkilya.

Sporadic outbreaks of political unrest were reported in the West Bank and Gaza today, the first day of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s trip to the United States for talks on an American proposal for Middle East peace negotiations.

7 Palestinians Shot

Israeli troops shot and wounded seven Palestinians after demonstrators attacked them with rocks in the West Bank village of Yamun, about 50 miles north of Jerusalem, the army said. A curfew was later imposed on the village.

Israeli police commanders met Sunday to find ways to stop the wave of resignations, but Israel National Police spokesman Yehoshua Goldapfel declined to disclose the results of the meetings.

During the weekend, an estimated 450 of the 550 policemen in the West Bank stepped down and some resignations were reported among the 150-man force in Arab East Jerusalem.

The biggest blow came in Gaza, where more than 200 of the 300 officers on the force handed in their uniforms and equipment, Palestinian sources said.

The army announced, meanwhile, that a soldier, who was not identified, has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Gaza resident who cursed at him when he confronted a group of rock-throwing protesters. The legal action marked the first prosecution of a soldier for killing a Palestinian protester since the unrest began.