Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin charged Tuesday that the Palestine Liberation Organization was responsible for the deaths of young Palestinians in recent clashes with the Israel Defense Force in the West Bank because it was the PLO which incited youths to riot and throw rocks at Israeli security forces and civilians.
He also blamed the unrest on Jordan’s lack of response to Israeli calls for peace negotiations and on “residents of the (administered) areas and other Palestinians who are not declared members of the PLO (but) who refuse to accept Israel’s hand outstretched for peace, to sit around the negotiating table and reach peace.”
Rabin was replying in the Knesset to two non-confidence motions on the use of force by the IDF in quelling unrest in the West Bank. The motions were defeated. He said if the PLO and other agitators had not incited Palestinian youths to violence, the army and police would not have to resort to rubber bullets, tear gas, and finally live ammunition to halt the rioting.
INVESTIGATION OF A FATAL SHOOTING
Four Palestinian youths, two of them minors, have been killed in clashes in the West Bank since last Thursday. The IDF is investigating the fatal refugee camp near Nablus Monday. Rabin told the Knesset that a forensic examination of the bullet removed from the boy’s body proved it came from a weapon not used by the IDF or the border police.
He said the youngster was brought to a local hospital with fatal wounds before the IDF opened fire He said the investigation is continuing to determine how he met his death.
Speaking earlier at Bar Ilan University, Rabin said the motive of the PLO is that the worse conditions are for the West Bank population, the better for the PLO. He vowed that Israel would not surrender to terrorism or to unrest in the territories. The present wave of disturbances is aimed at moderate elements in the West Bank and against supporters of Jordan who want to take positive action for peace, Rabin said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
