Israel ‘Scolds’ Two Soldiers in Village Incident

The Israeli army Tuesday reprimanded two soldiers for firing their weapons in a village where an Arab was killed, and officials pledged to reopen West Bank schools that have been closed for four months.

Israeli troops also shot and wounded a Palestinian who tried to grab one of their weapons in a refugee camp north of Jerusalem, the army said.

The army said an officer was “severely scolded” and another soldier given a 35-day suspended jail sentence for firing live ammunition against military regulations in the West Bank village of Azmout on Monday.

A 15-year-old Arab was shot to death in the village during a confrontation with Israeli troops. The army says it is still investigating whether the boy was killed by soldiers. An army spokesman said the soldier was punished for firing and the officer was scolded for not stopping him.

Regulations on Shooting

“There are orders of when to shoot, and when not to shoot, and the commanders decided he fired against regulations,” the spokesman said.

The army lifted a four-day curfew on Nablus, the West Bank’s largest city, allowing residents to leave their homes. It also lifted a curfew on the Shati refugee camp in Gaza but later declared it a closed military zone, barring residents from leaving and reporters from entering.

The move to reopen the schools was a sign of Israel’s growing view that the 5-month-old Arab uprising in the occupied territories is waning. Since the protests began last Dec. 9, at least 181 Arabs and two Israelis have been killed.

The military administration closed the 1,199 educational institutions in the West Bank to clamp down on unrest. The schools had been centers of protest.

Officials said the schools will be reopened in three phases starting Monday.

Olivier Rafovitch, spokesman for the West Bank military administration, said primary schools will reopen first, allowing 203,000 children to return to school.

Rafovitch said plans call for allowing 70,000 elementary school pupils to return to school in the last week of May and then 37,000 high school students during the first week of June, “depending on how the students behave.”

Merchants in the occupied lands observed a near-total commercial strike as Muslims marked the second day of a three-day feast at the end of the Ramadan holy month. Curfews were maintained on four towns and refugee camps.