4 Palestinians Slain; Jewish Settler Killed by Firebomb

Four Palestinians were killed by army gunfire today and a Jewish settler was burned to death when Palestinians hurled a firebomb at his car in the West Bank. The death toll was the highest in one day for two months.

One of the Palestinians was killed when army guards fired tear gas, plastic bullets and other ammunition to quell a riot in a military prison, army sources said. Fourteen other prisoners were injured.

Two Palestinian teen-agers were reported shot to death today in the occupied lands, and a Palestinian died of injuries suffered earlier in the uprising.

Military sources said an Israeli settler died after his car was set ablaze by Palestinians near the settlement of Alfei Menashe. Troops rushed to the scene of the attack, set up roadblocks and hunted for suspects.

Israeli government and military officials, meanwhile, rejected the conclusions of a U.S. State Department report alleging substantial human rights violations and said the report ignored the context of the uprising.

The U.S. report, released Tuesday, says methods used by the army to halt the 14-month revolt have resulted in “many avoidable deaths and injuries.”

Jonathan Kuttab, co-founder of a human rights monitoring group, said he hopes the U.S. government will reassess its $3-billion annual aid to Israel in light of the findings.

Army sources said the unrest at the military prison in Megiddo, in northern Israel, began outside when visiting relatives went on a rampage, raising Palestinian flags and stoning soldiers’ parked cars.

When guards suspended visiting hours, inmates began rioting, the sources said. “As prisoners returned to cells, they stirred up others and a serious riot started inside the cells,” the sources said.

They said military guards fired tear gas and plastic bullets to try to end the rioting. When that failed, the guards opened fire with conventional ammunition, they said, resulting in the death and injuries.