Arabs Storm School Taken Over by Israelis; Two Slain

Soldiers opened fire Friday when a mob attacked a school the troops had occupied, killing two Arabs, and other troops stormed a mosque to pursue youths throwing stones, according to Arab and army reports.

Witnesses and Israel Radio said 13 Palestinians were wounded at the school in Tarqumiya, which was being converted into a temporary army headquarters.

In nearby Hebron, soldiers shot at young Arabs on the roof of Al Haras mosque who pelted them with rocks and raised the outlawed Palestinian flag after midday prayers. Hospital officials said four Arabs were wounded.

About 30 soldiers stormed the mosque, yanked down the flags and lined up dozens of teen-agers against a wall. The army said 50 were arrested.

Troopers rushed Hebron’s Alia Hospital later and arrested six young Arabs who barricaded themselves on the roof, flinging stones at soldiers and passing cars, the army reported.

At least 105 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have been killed since violence began Dec. 9 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Israel has occupied since capturing them from Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 Middle East war.

More than 4,000 Palestinians have been detained since the unrest began and 3,000 remain in jail. Previous roundups have focused on rioters, but the current effort is against alleged leaders of what Palestinians call “the uprising.”

School Taken Over

Soldiers entered Tarqumiya, a village of 9,000 people, about 4 a.m. “and took over the school, throwing all the desks out of the classroom, then about 500 youths marched out to the school and started throwing rocks and broken bottles,” said Naim Odeh, a 52-year-old teacher.

He said soldiers responded with gunfire during a confrontation lasting several hours, and two young men were killed about 7:30 a.m.

Officials of Alia Hospital in Hebron said Khaled Hassan Ahmed Murktan, 18, died of a gunshot wound in the stomach and Walid Abdul Fatatta, also 18, was shot in the heart. Family members took the bodies away. The army said it could not confirm the deaths.

About 200 villagers accompanied the bodies to the cemetery, waving a large Palestinian flag and shaking their fists.

“We will all join you, our martyrs. Our spirits and our lives are with you,” they chanted, gathering around the freshly dug graves.

Several clashes were reported in Hebron.

Hospital officials and Arab witnesses said about 50 soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the Alia Hospital compound to subdue about 100 protesters before storming it.