The Security Council is expected to convene later this week to discuss the upsurge of violence in the Israeli-administered territories, after failing Monday to reach agreement on a statement criticizing Israel.
The new round of meetings follows the killing of six Palestinians by Israeli security forces last weekend in a spate of unrest that continued well into the week.
Much of the violence was sparked by activities linked to Fatah Day, the 26th anniversary of the founding of Al Fatah, the main fighting unit of the Palestine Liberation Organization controlled by Yasir Arafat.
The anniversary was marked Tuesday with riots and demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, despite the widespread curfews that authorities had imposed on many towns and refugee camps in an attempt to control the violence.
Four Palestinians were killed in clashes with the security forces Tuesday and a fifth was shot to death Wednesday.
In the West Bank village of Rujeib, near Nablus, an 18-year-old was shot to death Tuesday after a lengthy string of clashes with the army. In Kabatiya, south of Jenin, a 31-year-old man was shot in the chest during a rock-throwing altercation with Israeli troops.
The other two deaths Tuesday occurred in the city of Khan Yunis, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip. An Israel Defense Force spokesperson said two masked men brandishing knives and what turned out to be toy pistols were shot when they failed to heed warnings to stop.
Wednesday’s shooting death also took place in Khan Yunis, during a clash between rioters and soldiers. The victim was a 37-year-old woman.
U.S. ‘DISTURBED’ BY UNREST
In Washington, the State Department said Wednesday that it was “disturbed by the recent violence in Israel and the occupied territories.”
“We believe that both sides must work to stop the killings and the violence,” said Richard Boucher, the department’s deputy spokesman.
At the United Nations, the Security Council convened Monday afternoon to discuss a statement, proposed by the PLO, that would have criticized Israel’s handling of the violence.
The statement was backed by the Yemeni ambassador, Abdalla al-Ashtal, whose term as president of the Security Council expired Monday. The one-month rotating position was taken over on New Year’s Day by Zaire’s ambassador, Bagbeni Adeito Nzengeya.
The proposed statement is reportedly milder than recent Security Council actions. It merely deplores the recent violence and calls for the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions. If approved, it would be non-binding.
Meanwhile, the Security Council rotated five of its 15 positions at the beginning of the new year, replacing delegates from Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, Finland and Malaysia with representatives of Austria, Belgium, Ecuador, India and Zimbabwe. Council terms run for two years but expire on a staggered basis.
(Contributing to this report were JTA correspondents David Landau in Jerusalem and Howard Rosenberg in Washington.)
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