Tensions Rise as Motorists Defy Road Closure in Gaza

Israeli soldiers faced Palestinian motorists in a tense standoff Sunday on a road off-limits to Arab civilian traffic near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.

Encouraged by Palestinian police to take to the banned road, hundreds of motorists jammed a one-mile strip in front of the settlement of Netzarim for most of the day to protest Israeli travel restrictions that have been in force since a Muslim suicide attack in 1994.

Israeli military jeeps and armored personnel carriers took up positions to block the route, and officers warned they would open fire if cars pressed on toward the settlement.

But by nightfall, traffic had thinned and Palestinian drivers cautiously cut through fields, creating a detour that kept them about 100 yards from the Israeli positions.

Earlier, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization official threatened an explosion of violence if Israeli and Palestinian officers failed to defuse the crisis.

“If this road is not open, it will lead to problems similar to those of the opening of the tunnel,” Palestinian Justice Minister Freih abu Medeen told Israel’s Arabic radio, referring to bloody riots in September sparked by Israel’s opening of an entrance to a tourist tunnel in East Jerusalem.

The Netzarim road was closed to all Palestinians in November 1994 when a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up and killed three soldiers.

Israeli settlers and troops continued to use the road, which was opened in July to limited Palestinian official traffic--PLO police and dignitaries with special passes. Palestinians said they expected it to be opened gradually to civilians.