Gaza Curfew Lifted

The curfew which was imposed on the city of Gaza after an Israeli army officer was shot dead there Sunday will be lifted Tuesday night. But the street in the center of the city where Captain Ron Tal was killed by a terrorist will remain under curfew.

In addition, the ban on Arab residents entering or leaving the Gaza Strip by land or by sea, which was also imposed Sunday, will be lifted as Arabs began observances marking the four-day holy festival of Id-Al-Adha.

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, who visited Gaza Tuesday, stressed that the Israel Defense Force did not intend to harm the Gaza Strip residents. But, he added, the residents must realize that the ongoing search for Tal’s killer may make life hard for them. Intensive security searches have been going on since Sunday but Tal’s car has not yet been found.

Security sources were bitter Monday because no one had volunteered any information that could lead to the apprehension of the killer. The sources noted that the attack took place in an area in the center of town where local residents, shopkeepers and passers-by must have seen what was happening.

Tal had been driving his car through the city and slowed down at an intersection to make a sharp left turn. A man who had apparently been standing unobtrusively near the intersection approached the slow-moving vehicle and fired several shots point-blank through the window and fled. Hours later the Palestine Liberation Organization claimed responsibility for the attack. Army sources said they did not think Tal had been a planned target, but rather a “random” victim.