Gaza Strip Arabs Defy Israeli Curfew, Continue Protests

Palestinian demonstrators set tires on fire and hurled stones in the Gaza Strip on Monday, less than 24 hours after an indefinite curfew was imposed in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Israeli leaders, meanwhile, dismissed reports that the Palestine Liberation Organization is considering recognizing the Jewish state and creating a provisional government within the occupied territories.

In Arab East Jerusalem, Palestinian protesters threw rocks at police and at an Israeli bus near the walled Old City, slightly injuring three American tourists, police said.

An official at Hadassah Hospital identified the Americans as brother and sisters Abraham, Dina and Shoshana Kai. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the three, all teen-agers, were released after treatment. He did not know their hometown.

Arab Killed

In the occupied West Bank, hospital officials said a 21-year-old Arab man was shot and killed by Israeli troops during overnight clashes.

Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin,on a tour of the Gaza Strip, told reporters Monday that his order confining the area’s 650,000 Palestinians to their homes under a military curfew was a clear message that Israel is cracking down on protesters.

Scattered protests broke out Monday despite the curfew, and Palestinian reports said two residents of the Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City were wounded by army gunfire.

During Rabin’s tour, Palestinian youths darted out from behind garbage dumpsters and brick walls to hurl rocks at a military convoy carrying reporters and military officials. Protesters also set tires on fire in the middle of several roads.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials expressed skepticism over reports that the PLO will recognize Israel and establish a government in exile.

“What they have said up to now is that they might want talks, they might create a government in exile,” Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said. “Maybe they will change their charter (calling for Israel’s destruction) and maybe not.

“I cannot live in a mass of statements and denials or communications by winks. . . . “

And Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir told Israel Television: “The establishment of a Palestinian state . . . no matter where . . . is the first stage in the destruction of Israel.”