28 Injured, Boy Declared Dead as Protests Continue in West Bank

Protests by stone-throwing demonstrators swept the West Bank for the third straight day since three Palestinians were shot to death at an Israeli army roadblock. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed sympathy to the victims’ families Thursday and said mistakes were made.

Witnesses said up to 28 Palestinians were wounded by rubber bullets in clashes with Israeli soldiers in five communities, including the victims’ village of Dura. A 13-year-old Palestinian boy, Sami Karameh, was declared brain dead at Hebron’s Al Ahli hospital after a rubber bullet penetrated his skull in a clash Wednesday.

Another youth, 17-year-old Nael Mohammed Shahteet, was in serious condition after being shot in the stomach. Palestinian witnesses said he was shot by a Jewish settler whose car had been stoned by Arab protesters near Dura.

In a bizarre counterpoint, hundreds of Jewish settlers dressed in costumes to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim paraded from their enclave toward a protest site in Hebron.

Palestinian youths lined the parade route, glumly watching the merrymaking. “They fly balloons, and we burn tires. We are so many worlds apart that there will never be peace,” one said.

The protests were sparked by the deaths Tuesday of three Palestinian construction workers killed at an army roadblock west of Hebron. Israeli troops opened fire when the van that the workers were riding in speeded up at the roadblock.

Israel Television said Thursday night that a preliminary investigation found that the van’s gas pedal may have been stuck.