500 Palestinians Detained for Violating New Israeli Curbs

Police detained at least 500 Palestinians inside Israel on Wednesday for violating tough new security restrictions imposed in an effort to stop Arab-Israeli violence.

The crackdown ordered by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin after the slayings of 13 Israelis in March could put yet another obstacle in the way of getting Middle East peace talks back on track.

Worsening unrest also brought the deaths of 26 Palestinians in March, most shot during clashes with soldiers. Among those killed were six children.

Violence persisted on Wednesday. A Palestinian using a knife wounded a Thai worker at an Israeli farm in the Hamra settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israel Radio reported.

In Jerusalem, police confronted about 200 right-wing protesters outside Rabin’s home.

Palestinians warned that the closure of the occupied lands, preventing more than 110,000 Palestinians from working in Israel, could stir more violence and encourage extremists.

“I think the closure is an escalation of collective punishment,” said Hanan Ashrawi, spokeswoman for Palestinian peace negotiators. “It will contribute to the causes that . . . have created the cycle of violence.”

The Palestinian delegation has refused to say whether it will attend the next round of peace talks, scheduled to begin April 20 in Washington. It is demanding that Israel first bring home nearly 400 alleged Muslim militants who were expelled in December.

Israeli officials said they are keeping 1.8 million Palestinians bottled up in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in an effort to maintain a climate for peace talks despite a fearful public and right-wing calls for stronger measures.

The Palestinians were detained in most of Israel’s major cities for remaining in Israel in violation of the closure order.