4 Palestinians Reported Slain by Israel Troops

Israeli soldiers shot dead four Palestinians and wounded 27 in the occupied West Bank town of Nablus on Friday in clashes that flared after troops killed an Arab the previous night, Palestinian and hospital sources said.

The army confirmed two dead and 14 injured in Nablus on Friday and said it was checking reports of other casualties.

The army clamped curfews on Nablus, where soldiers and Palestinians have clashed every day this week. Two nearby refugee camps were also under curfew.

The victims included Ahmed Mohammed Mashharawi, 17, who died of bullet wounds, sources at Ittihad hospital in Nablus said.

Twenty-seven Palestinians, most of them with gunshot wounds, were admitted to a Nablus hospital.

Palestinians said Samir Bahloul, 24, died from bullet wounds in the head and chest when soldiers fired on stone-throwing demonstrators early Friday morning in a clash that erupted after a funeral procession for a Nablus man shot dead by troops Thursday.

Soldiers did not intervene in the march but opened fire to disperse protesters after the man’s burial.

The demonstrations spread to other areas of the city, and soldiers later shot dead Jamal Ali Najar and Ali Sayikh, hospital and security sources said.

Meanwhile, near the village of Burqa, north of Nablus, a West Bank Arab believed to be collaborating with Israel was found stabbed to death in a cave. Villagers identified the man as Mohamed Shaer, 32.