Troops Seal Off Israeli Borders to Palestinians

Israeli troops sealed the borders of the occupied territories today in an effort to curb a wave of bloody revenge attacks by Arabs and Jews.

An order from Defense Minister Moshe Arens banned the nearly 1.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from entering Israel after attacks on Tuesday left two Arabs dead and seven people wounded.

In Jerusalem, tensions over the killings of Palestinians on the Temple Mount on Oct. 8 increased with the death today of a 20th Arab victim.

Police sources and family members said Salim Ahmad Khaldi, 18, was apparently shot by an Israeli civilian on a street near the holy site during the melee.

Hospital officials said another Arab also died today of beating wounds suffered at the hands of Israelis after he stabbed two women soldiers Tuesday.

A general strike was called in Arab East Jerusalem, and activists ordered merchants in the main Arab shopping streets and the narrow alleys of the Old City to close.

In an interview on army radio, Arens denied that confining Palestinians to the territories amounted to returning to the 1967 border before Israel captured the land.

He said he hoped Palestinians would realize “that persisting in these violent attacks will only increase the tragedy of the Palestinian people.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Dan Naveh said the order would “last for several days” and should not seriously affect the troubled Israeli economy.

At the Erez crossing into the Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians arrived today in private cars, taxis and buses. Many carried suitcases or makeshift bundles as they were loaded into buses and trucks to go home.