The World - News from Sept. 30, 1988

Israel’s army chief admitted for the first time that his troops killed some Palestinian protesters while firing plastic bullets. Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron disclosed what Palestinians and U.N. officials had been saying for months--that protesters also have died from rubber bullet wounds and from tear gas inhalation. However, Shomron defended the use of plastic bullets, saying that they caused deaths only “in very isolated incidents” and resulted in fewer fatalities than when conventional bullets were used. Doctors in the Gaza Strip said eight Palestinians have been killed by plastic bullets since Israeli troops began using them a month ago.