An Israel Defense Force officer was suspended from duty Sunday after a fatal shooting at a village near Jenin in the West Bank.
Israel Radio reported that the second in command of an IDF company was relieved of his duties after army investigators determined that the killing of a 20-year-old Palestinian in the village may have been unnecessary. The man, identified in unconfirmed reports as Naim Yusef Taha of Fakua village, was shot during a riot-breaking operation by the IDF company.
Meanwhile, relative calm prevailed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Disturbances were reported, however, in the Shati and Jabalya refugee camps.
May Day, the traditional workers holiday, was hardly observed in the territories, in contrast to Arab observances in Israel proper. The Palestinian trade unions canceled official ceremonies and most Arab day laborers reported to their jobs in Israel.
Military sources said that 80 percent of the workers from the Hebron area and 60 percent from the Nablus region were at their jobs, as were the majority of workers from Bethlehem, Ramallah and Tulkarm.
Most Arab workers from the Gaza Strip reported to their jobs. Schools were open. Public transportation operated normally, except for some disruptions in the Tulkarm district.
Observers said the high attendance at work and virtual ignoring of May Day reflected the financial dislocations suffered by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territories since the uprising began.
Nevertheless, many shops were closed and Arab municipalities were open only half a day.
IDF CHIEF IS UPBEAT
Gen. Dan Shomron, the IDF chief of staff, made an upbeat assessment of the situation in the territories. Talking to reporters during a visit to the Gaza Strip, Shomron maintained that the Palestinians have had enough.
He said they now understand that they have no chance to achieve their goals by rioting. They are undergoing a sobering-up process and realize they must negotiate with the Israeli authorities if they want to change their situation, Shomron said. The chief of staff also observed that the Arab countries cannot help the residents of the territories, and the rest of the world does little else but watch events on television.
But not all was quiet this weekend. In Hebron, one Arab was wounded Saturday night, reportedly in a confrontation with armed Jewish settlers from the adjacent township of Kiryat Arba. The settlers claimed they were strolling through Hebron when they were attacked with stones. They responded by firing shots into the air.
Crowds gathered at the scene but soldiers dispersed them without resort to firearms. Nevertheless, groups of Arab youths continued to set up roadblocks throughout the town during the night and stoned military vehicles.
An Arab was admitted to a local hospital with bullet wounds. The IDF is investigating a possible connection to the incident with the settlers.
Two Palestinian men, one 25 and the other 18, were detained in Hebron last week on suspicion of splashing acid on three Arab police officers who had returned to their jobs after resigning.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
