Arab Slain in Clash With Israeli Troops

An Arab youth was shot and killed in a clash with Israeli troops Thursday at the start of a general strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip marking the six-month anniversary of the Palestinian uprising.

Shops and businesses closed their doors in the occupied territories and Arab East Jerusalem in response to a call by the clandestine Unified National Leadership for the Uprising in the Occupied Territories.

An army spokesman confirmed that a 17-year-old Arab youth was shot in the head during a confrontation with Israeli troops near Nablus, the most populous town in the West Bank. The spokesman said the youth was killed when an officer saw him standing on a balcony and apparently trying to drop a block on troops standing below.

Two Wounded in Legs

An 18-year-old youth and a 12-year-old girl were wounded in the legs by army fire during demonstrations in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, the spokesman said.

Despite Thursday’s Palestinian death, the level of violence has fallen sharply as Palestinian leaders attempt to increase the effect of the rebellion by shifting from stone-throwing and demonstrations to a campaign of civil disobedience against Israel.

The uprising started last December when Arab youths took to the streets of the Gaza Strip in violent demonstrations touched off when an Israeli truck crashed into a Palestinian car.

According to the Israeli army, 193 Palestinians and two Israelis have died in the unrest, but other sources put the Palestinian casualties at 203 dead and more than 5,000 wounded.

About 5,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned since the start of the uprising.

Doctors Report on Gaza

A team of Israeli doctors who investigated conditions in Gaza said in a report made public Thursday that the Israeli army should begin keeping more careful statistics to ensure that regulations dealing with the treatment of civilians are being observed.

The report expressed concern that tear gas was being used improperly in closed spaces but conceded that the doctors could find no conclusive link between the use of tear gas and the number of miscarriages reported among Palestinian women.

The doctors said they were concerned about reports that Arabs under treatment at Gaza hospitals had been moved into Israel for interrogation. The report said that certain types of plastic bullets being used by the army are capable of causing severe injury when fired from high-powered rifles.

Improper Use Denied

An army spokesman denied that tear gas was being used improperly. He said that some gas canisters may have fallen in enclosed areas by accident. The spokesman said that tear gas and rubber bullets are regarded as the least dangerous way to deal with hostile crowds.

He denied that Arab patients have been moved from their hospitals for interrogation. He said that such patients were moved into Israel in order to give them better medical care.

In another development Thursday, Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian who heads the Arab Studies Center in East Jerusalem, was released from prison after nine months of administrative detention. Husseini, who had been accused of subversive activities, denied Israeli allegations that he had ties to the Palestine Liberation Organization.