4 Palestinians Slain in Gaza and West Bank
Four Palestinians were killed in the occupied territories Friday during violence that flared despite the observance of a major Muslim holy day.
In a rare move, meanwhile, 16 Israeli soldiers deserted their posts in the occupied Gaza Strip to protest the conditions of their service, the army said.
The troops were stationed in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where a bloody clash Wednesday left four Palestinians dead and more than 50 wounded.
The bodies of three Palestinians were found Friday near a mosque in Gaza City as worshipers marked Eid al Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Arab reports said. The three had been shot and stabbed to death by masked Palestinians, the reports said.
The Muslim fundamentalist group Hamas claimed responsibility in a note on the bodies. The body of the fourth Palestinian, PLO activist Abdul Karim Sbeihat, 25, was found in a field near his home village of Romaneh in the West Bank.
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