Israelis Confine 450,000 Arabs to Homes in West Bank, Gaza

Israeli troops confined 450,000 Arabs to their homes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip on Sunday after one of the most violent days of the Palestinian uprising.

Also Sunday, authorities found the body of an Israeli paratrooper in a shallow grave near the Gaza Strip, not far from where he was last seen seven weeks ago.

Police blamed Palestinian guerrillas for the death of Sgt. Avi Sassportaz, 21, whose body was found in a remote area near a road about 10 miles northeast of the Gaza Strip.

Last Seen Hitchhiking

Sassportaz disappeared Feb. 16 after leaving his southern base for his home in the port city of Ashdod. He was last seen hitchhiking at an intersection less than a mile from where his body was found.

Hundreds of soldiers searched the area north of Gaza for another missing Israeli soldier believed kidnaped by Palestinians.

The soldier, Ilan Saadon, 18, was last seen Wednesday just north of the Gaza Strip.

The army imposed curfews in 20 towns or refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank to keep 450,000 Palestinians indoors Sunday and prevent a recurrence of Saturday’s violence, perhaps the bloodiest day of the 17-month-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule.

“The Gaza curfews were imposed to allow things to cool down while the West Bank curfews were precautionary and aimed at preventing unrest from starting in that area also,” a senior military source said.

Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai, the Gaza area commander, said: “We will not let people riot. Every disturbance and riot will bring about a clash with the security forces, and a clash with the security forces also means casualties.”

Arabs Report 3 Killed

Arab reports said three Palestinians were killed and 135 were wounded by Israeli forces on Saturday, most during clashes in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said its records showed 77 wounded and two dead.

Arab hospitals in Gaza said that troops shot and wounded 10 people in continuing street protests Sunday, and a 23-year-old Rafah resident, Mahmoud Arja, who suffered from asthma, died from inhaling tear gas.

Chief army spokesman Brig. Gen. Ephraim Lapid said Arab doctors told authorities that Arja died of asthma and that his death had no connection with the violence.