55 ISRAELI'S & PALESTINIANS DIE IN BATTLES SO FAROVER TUNNEL
Mr. Death-By-Diversity...
...Says,"Hello, my brothers."Palestinian Unrest Continues
...Says,"Hello, my brothers."Thu 09/26/96
By Karin Laub Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP) - Their fragile peacegoing up in thick black smoke, Palestinian police and Israeli troops foughtwith automatic weapons Thursday at holy sites and in the streets of theWest Bank and Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians burned tires, threwstones and called for a revolution.
With at least 38 Palestinians and 11 Israelis killed in one day, the pitchedlevel of violence surpassed that of the worst days of the six-year ``intefadeh''- the Palestinian revolt against Israeli occupation of the West Bank andGaza that ended in 1993 with a breakthrough peace accord.
At least 43 Palestinians, 11 Israelis and one Egyptian army officer havebeen killed since the clashes began Tuesday, bringing the three-day deathtoll to 55.
Embattled areas Thursday resembled war zones, with smoke from burning tiresblackening skies dotted by Israeli helicopter gunships.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel on Thursday and wentinto an emergency cabinet meeting on the crisis, cutting short a three-daytrip to Europe.
He tried to arrange a quick meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafatto stop the fighting. Arafat told Netanyahu he saw no point in meeting unlessNetanyahu presented concrete proposals for implementing the peace agreements.
Israel television and radio stations reported that efforts were under wayto arrange a meeting of the two leaders with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarakin Cairo on Friday. The Egyptian news agency MENA said the meeting wouldprobably take place next week in Cairo.
The reports could not be immediately confirmed.
Despite opposition from the United States, the U.N. Security Council calleda formal session for Friday to discuss the mounting violence.
In street battles in the garbage-strewn alleys of Gaza and the rocky hilltopsof the West Bank, Palestinian police in fatigues hunched behind trees andwalls as they fired assault rifles and hurled firebombs at helmeted Israelisoldiers who responded with heavy bursts of gunfire.
Traditionally, Palestinians have used stones in their battles with armedIsraeli troops. The involvement of the Palestinian police force, createdunder the peace accord, has made the most recent clashes more deadly.
Casualties mounted in part on Thursday because many of the Palestinian policeshot wildly and, unlike the Israelis, had no flak jackets.
In the West Bank town of Nablus, a fierce gun battle between Palestinianpolice and Israeli troops broke out after thousands of Palestinians stormedJoseph's Tomb, a Jewish seminary. Six Israeli troops and a Palestinian werekilled.
After the remaining Israeli troops guarding the tiny enclave were overwhelmed,protesters celebrated by setting fire to their jeeps and an armored personnelcarrier. Trapped in the compound, some of the Israelis lit candles and onekissed a Torah, or Jewish holy book, in prayers for deliverance.
An Israeli army spokesman said the situation stabilized in the evening afterPalestinian officials imposed a curfew in the vicinity of the tomb. About15 Palestinian policemen and several dozen Israeli soldiers were deployedto guard the site.
Fighting also broke out in the two tiny settlements of Netzarim and KfarDarom, isolated enclaves in the heart of the Palestinian-controlled GazaStrip, after thousands of Palestinian protesters marched toward the settlements.
The violence later spilled into Egypt: An Egyptian army officer was shotdead and a policeman and Palestinian child were wounded when bullets androcks strayed across the border with the Gaza strip.
The clashes were set off Tuesday by Israel's decision to open an archaeologicaltunnel near Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. It reflected Palestinians' deepfrustration with Netanyahu's hard-line policies.
Many Palestinians feel their dream of statehood slipped away after Netanyahu'sMay election victory over Shimon Peres - who helped negotiate a preliminarypeace agreement with the Palestinians - and have been frustrated by a seven-monthblockade of the West Bank and Gaza that keeps them out of Israel.
``There was no alternative for us, that's why we participated in this uprising,''said Mohammed Ali, a 30-year-old unemployed cleaner who hurled stones atIsraeli troops.
Netanyahu has witnessed the unraveling of his campaign pledge to bring Israel``peace with security.'' He is influenced both by hard-liners in his rulingcoalition and his own devotion to the Likud Party line that Israel mustnot abandon the West Bank.
Arafat initially encouraged the riots to warn Israel that it must move forwardin the peace talks, but by Thursday afternoon, Palestinian radio was broadcastingappeals in Arafat's name for police to cease their fire.
Many of Arafat's armed policemen ignored the appeals. Some took off theiruniforms and proceeded to the front lines with civilians - either with weaponsor to throw stones, said Lt. Ihab Abu Mustafa, commander of 100 policemenin Ramallah.
In addition to the 55 killed, more than 400 Palestinians were wounded bygunfire and at least 40 Israelis also were hurt, many by bullets.
Palestinian TV throughout the day broadcast gory footage from hospital roomswhere doctors were frantically trying to treat scores of wounded. Againand again, the scenes ended with doctors placing white sheets over patientswho died on the operating table.
Arafat visited the wounded in Gaza City's Shifa Hospital and bitterly complainedthat ``what happened is a real massacre.''
The day began with widespread stone-throwing clashes reminiscent of the1987-1993 Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. But the fightingquickly escalated into guerrilla warfare as Palestinian troops, encouragedby the crowd, returned fire against Israeli troops.
In the Palestinian uprising, a day's death toll rarely rose above singledigits because the Palestinians only had stones at their disposal. The biggestone-day death toll was on April 16, 1988, when 14 Palestinians died in aday of widespread clashes after the assassination in Tunis of Khalil Wazir,the PLO military chief known as Abu Jihad.
More than 1,100 Palestinians and 150 Israelis were killed during the six-yearrevolt.
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