Troops in Tourist Garb Suspected in Arab Death

Gunmen dressed as tourists, down to the wearing of shorts and the carrying of cameras, shot dead a Palestinian stone thrower and wounded three others Saturday, Arab witnesses said. The incident appears to be the latest chapter of a covert war where participants in the Arab uprising are assassinated on the spot.

Also Friday, the body of an American-Palestinian was found in a field near the West Bank town of Al Birah, the apparent victim of torture and a shooting, family members said. The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem has asked for an investigation.

Residents of Bethlehem said that between six and eight gunmen, who were seen carrying knapsacks and tourist maps, loitered near St. Mary’s Syrian Church at the top of a staircase that leads down to Manger Square, the traditional site of Jesus’ birth.

As happens almost every morning, masked youths and young men taunted soldiers who were stationed below until the troops began an armed pursuit. As one such group threw stones at approaching soldiers, at least two gunmen pulled revolvers, shooting one stone-thrower in the chest and three in the legs. The dead victim, Radi Mahmoud Salah, was from the village of Dar Salah on the outskirts of Bethlehem.

For more than a year, Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents have used a series of disguises--from Arab dress to journalistic credentials and apparently now tourist garb--in order to close in on Palestinian protesters and stone throwers.

The use of civilian dress by Israeli soldiers and the Shin Bet security service and the stalking of Palestinian rebels have brought up uncomfortable parallels with tactics common to so-called dirty wars in countries like Argentina and El Salvador.

‘Shot Them in Cold Blood’

“I could not believe my eyes,” said a druggist who witnessed the shooting in Bethlehem. “They grabbed them and shot them in cold blood.”

Residents viewed the use of such cover as endangering foreigners in Bethlehem, a place where the Arab uprising and pilgrimage have been carried on side by side. Leaders of the uprising had told their followers to avoid throwing rocks at tourist buses entering the city or parked in Manger Square.

“We like tourists here. We never bother them,” said a bread salesman who also witnessed the killing. “But now, we must suspect them, too.”

As he spoke, an eight-year-old pointed aggressively at two unwary tourists from Bethlehem, each carrying a camera, and yelled in English: “No good, no good.” An army spokesmen said only that the stone throwers were shot by security forces.

Arab-American Slain

The shootings in Bethlehem coincided with the grisly discovery of the body of 14-year-old Amjad Hussein Jibreen in Al Birah, north of Jerusalem. Jibreen, who was born in Denver and maintained American citizenship, was shot in the chest, and his body showed signs of a beating and cigarette burns, family members said.

Residents of Al Birah say the boy was last seen leaving a mosque in Ramallah last Wednesday, two days after youths in the city threw firebombs at a car carrying four Israeli tax collectors. Two of the passengers were badly burned.

Family members said they were told that the boy was held by the army. The army spokesmen denied it.

The U.S.-based Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee demanded an investigation into the killing of Jibreen.

Jibreen’s cousin, Ayman, said the body was discovered Saturday morning by a shepherd in the hills near Al Birah and was quickly buried.

Ayman said he saw the body after it was discovered and that it appeared that his cousin was shot at close range. “There were burns on his body, some of his teeth were knocked out, and there was a bullet in his chest,” he said.

Amjad Jibreen moved to his mother’s hometown of Al Birah in 1983. His father, Wathak, lives in Miami.

Discovery Sparks Rioting

The discovery of the body set off rioting in Al Birah, and the army sealed off the town. Troops also piled sand high on the road to the Jibreen household to keep reporters and mourners away.

More than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers during the 20-month uprising. Palestinians have killed another 80 of their own people suspected of collaborating with Israel. Thirty-five Israelis and two foreigners have died at the hands of Palestinians.