Israel Troops Kill 6 Arabs in Worst Day : Toll Reflects More Aggressive Tactics by Both Army, Rioters

Israeli troops shot six Palestinians to death Saturday in the single most lethal day of the 16-week-old Arab uprising in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, the army confirmed.

Saturday’s fatal toll reflected a much more deadly pattern of disturbances in recent days, which military sources linked to newly aggressive tactics on both sides.

They occurred on the eve of the anticipated arrival here today of Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who is beginning his second Middle East peace shuttle in a month to press a new U.S. initiative for peace in the region.

The new deaths raised to at least 127 the number of Palestinians killed in the unrest since it began Dec. 9. An Israeli soldier has also been killed. Fourteen of the Palestinian deaths have occurred in the last four days, and 30 occurred in the last 12 days.

Firing Without Warning

Military sources said that several factors accounted for the accelerating trend of fatalities. One was the reinstatement announced at a Cabinet meeting March 20 of an army policy allowing troops to fire without warning at firebombers. The change means that a “Molotov cocktail” in the hands of a demonstrator is considered, for response purposes, to be the equivalent of a rifle.

Also, the army last week announced a policy of reacting more quickly and firmly against demonstrations, particularly in remote villages. That policy went into effect in connection with planned protests March 30 and coincided with an unprecedented order declaring the territories to be closed military zones. For three days, residents were confined to their homes or villages, and media access to the areas was banned.

While the closure order was lifted Friday, the fast-response policy continues, army sources said, and that is another reason for the higher casualty toll, particularly during the last four days.

Triggered by Patrols

Speaking after troops killed four Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others last Wednesday, the West Bank military commander, Maj. Gen. Amram Mitzna, said that some of the clashes “would not have occurred had we not, at our own initiative, gone into villages and patrolled.”

Also, military sources said, the Palestinians are engaging in ever more daring physical attacks on army patrols.

All three factors appeared to be present in Saturday’s clashes, which marked the first time since the uprising began that as many as six people had been killed in a single day. There have been three previous occasions when five Palestinians have been killed or mortally wounded in a single day.

The army said that three of Saturday’s victims died when a patrol shot toward a group of Gaza residents who had attacked them with knives, axes and iron bars. The attackers injured one soldier while trying to steal his assault rifle, and another soldier suffered stab wounds before his comrades opened fire, according to the military’s account.

Collection of Weapons

Speaking on Israeli Television on Saturday night, a local army commander said that the incident began at about 10:30 a.m., when troops tried to apprehend youths who threw stones at them. The commander displayed a collection of knives and what appeared to be a meat cleaver, which he said the angry crowd had used against his men.

Palestinian sources identified the dead men as Jamil Rashed Kurdi, 55, Ahmed Hamis Kurdi, 40, and Ahmed Kurdi, 21. All are believed to have been members of the same family, although their exact relationship was not immediately known.

The Palestinian sources described Jamil Kurdi as a meat cutter, and they said he threw an ax at the soldiers in self-defense when they raided his shop. They also said that 13 Palestinians were wounded in the incident, but the army said that only two were injured.

Shopkeepers Unhappy

At about the same time, an officer shot and killed a Palestinian youth during a demonstration near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which is built over the location revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus.

The trouble began after troops forced shopkeepers to close their stores as part of a campaign to break a partial commercial strike organized by the clandestine Unified National Leadership for the Uprising in the Occupied Territories. By forcing shopkeepers to close during the few hours each day designated for business as usual under the strike plan, the authorities hope to eventually force the merchants to defy the underground orders and open their doors normally.

The forced closings were followed Saturday by a stone-throwing demonstration in and around Bethlehem’s main Manger Square. A youth identified by Palestinian sources as Salim Shaer, 23, was shot by an officer at the scene when he prepared to throw a firebomb at soldiers, according to an army spokesman. He was dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.

Breaking Up Demonstrations

The two other fatal incidents occurred in West Bank villages when troops entered to break up demonstrations, according to the army.

At Beit Liqya, southwest of Ramallah, Palestinian sources identified the victim as Jihad Asi, 19. At Deir es Sudan, northwest of Ramallah, they said Hamid Ahmad, 41, was shot to death.

The clandestine leadership of the uprising has called for more violent demonstrations in connection with Shultz’s return this week. They oppose the American peace initiative because it does not include an equal status in negotiations for the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Israel refuses to deal with the PLO, and the Shultz plan would include non-PLO Palestinian representation in peace talks only as part of a joint delegation with Jordan.