Two Palestinians were killed and at least 40 others injured Thursday in the third consecutive day of riots and violent clashes with Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
But army officials said the two Palestinians did not die from army fire. One was definitely shot dead by a fellow Arab and the other appeared to have been as well, an army spokesman said Thursday night.
In Tunis, the Palestine Liberation Organization leadership demanded that the United Nations intervene to protect Palestinians in the territories. The Islamic fundamentalist Hamas movement, meanwhile, vowed that the intensified violence would spread to the West Bank and force an Israeli withdrawal from the territories.
During the riots, an Israel Defense Force reservist was mistakenly shot and injured by a fellow soldier who fired his gun when their vehicle was stoned.
In Jerusalem, right-wing Israelis protesting the deteriorating security situation began what they said would be a round-the-clock vigil outside the residence of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was scheduled to return Friday from his visit to the United States.
The vigil included a memorial flame and a large placard listing the names of Jewish victims killed or injured in the violence of the intifada.
“I can’t sit down and wait for the next victim,” said one protester. “Every day somebody’s getting killed.”
Said another: “We call on Prime Minister Rabin to punish the Arab terrorists and to find a way with the army so there will be security all over Israel.”
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