Israeli officials say that leaders of the intifada, no longer able to incite mass disturbances, are resorting to individual acts of violence against Israeli targets with deadly weapons.
They point to events on Thursday morning as an example.
By 10 a.m., crowds here in Nablus, the largest Arab town in the West Bank, were thick at the fruit and vegetable stands where many shoppers were stocking up for the weekend.
Suddenly, three pistol shots rang out.
Within seconds, the shoppers and vendors took shelter, and steel shutters were pulled down over shop windows. Within minutes, the market was crawling with soldiers.
The shots, fired at an Israel Defense Force lookout post on a building in the center of town, came from among trees on a grassy mall that divides Nablus’ main street. One bullet struck the butt of a soldier’s rifle, barely missing the soldier.
The IDF closed off the area immediately and began a house-to-house search. Several suspects were arrested.
Firearms have been used only rarely in the intifada. By and large, the Arab populace has obeyed the Palestine Liberation Organization’s injunction to stick to throwing stones, believing that it has earned the Palestinians sympathy in world opinion for exercising restraint.
But recently, “hot” weapons have come into play.
On Wednesday night, an armed terrorist was killed in a clash with security forces in Idna village in the Hebron hills.
Two Israeli tax collectors, driving to work in Ramallah on Monday, were severely burned when gasoline bombs struck their car. Gas bombs were also thrown at soldiers in Nablus 10 days ago.
The shooting in Nablus occurred shortly before four U.S. lawmakers visited the city to see the intifada first hand.
Rep. Robert Wise (D-W.Va.) said the situation reminded him of Belfast; Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said the American news media were not showing the intifada as it was; and Rep. James McDermott (D-Wash.) said their junket was important because “there is interest in the United States where American money goes.”
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