Kiryat Arba Settler Stabbed, Wounds 2 Children As He Fires at Assailant

Strict security measures were enforced in the Hebron region today following the non-fatal stabbing last night of a resident of Kiryat Arba, the Orthodox Jewish township adjacent to Hebron.

The victim, David Kopulsky, 28, who was armed, suffered stab wounds in the back while walking near the old Hadassah building in the center of town shortly before seven p.m. He fired in the direction of his assailant, missing him but wounding two local children, one of them seriously. Kopulsky himself was brought to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem where he was de scribed in good condition.

Following the attack, the Military Governor of Hebron summoned Mayor Mustapha Natshe to his office. He told him that the authorities regarded the attack with gravity. The former Mayor of Hebron, Fahed Kawasme was deported two years ago, following the ambush slaying of six yeshiva students in the same part of Hebron.

TENSION ON WEST BANK

Tension continued today on the West Bank following the appointment of Prof. Menahem Milson as head of the civil administration in the West Bank. The appointment is part of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to separate military and civilian functions as a move toward the implementation of the autonomy plan.

But it is interpreted on the West Bank as an Israeli attempt to promote a moderate Palestinian leadership to counter pro-Palestine Liberation Organization elements. The latter lost no time organizing protests after a relatively long period of calm in the region. Rocks were tossed, and tires were burned in Ramallah, El Bireh and Nablus. Several students were detained.

Nationalist organizations initiated a series of gatherings opposing the civilian administration. One took place today in the Najah College in Nablus. But Mayor Bassam Shaka did not attend, apparently for fear of being deported.