Premier Yitzhak Shamir claimed Thursday that the Palestinian uprising is nearing an end, but security forces prepared for a new flare-up of violence this weekend in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
“We are on the way to restoring calm and to normal conditions in the area,” Shamir told reporters during a heavily guarded visit to the casbah in Hebron. He added that only an end to unrest would bring peace.
Shamir told Jewish settlers who have established an enclave in Hebron that “the entire people of Israel is with you” and urged them to act calmly in cooperation with the Israel Defense Force and the police.
He engaged in a dispute of sorts with an IDF soldier guarding the Patriarchs’ Tomb in Hebron, frequently the scene of clashes between Moslem and Jewish worshipers. The soldier said the Jewish settlers were the main cause of the Arab uprising.
Shamir responded that Arab hatred of Israel existed long before the settlers arrived in the territories.
The premier and his entourage passed before curious, sometimes hostile gazes in the narrow streets of the Arab marketplace. One merchant begged Shamir to “stop pressuring the local population.”
Shamir replied, “If there is quiet and order, nothing will be done against the population.” He added, “The population must behave properly too.”
One Arab youth approached Shamir defiantly. “We don’t want Israel. We want an Islamic state, we want Hebron, Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa,” he said.
Meanwhile, the IDF is gearing up for serious trouble on Friday, when Moslems observe the Id El Fidr holiday, which marks the conclusion of the month long fast of Ramadan. Authorities are also expecting disturbances on Sunday, the 21st anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem and the day Arabs consider to be the anniversary of the founding of Israel.
Thousands of worshipers are expected to attend prayers at the mosques on the Temple Mount Friday, which is the Moslem sabbath. It is usually a volatile occasion and Jerusalem police have been reinforced to deal with disturbances.
ARAB JOURNALISTS ARRESTED
Eight East Jerusalem Arabs have been arrested. Four are journalists suspected of anti-Israel activities. Two other East Jerusalem journalists were taken into custody last week, after the authorities closed down the Arabic weekly Al-Awda.
In Washington, the State Department criticized Israel on Thursday for arresting three journalists of the East Jerusalem newspaper Al-Fajr on Wednesday.
“We strongly oppose efforts to restrict the free expression of views through the press,” said department spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley. “The Palestinian media in East Jerusalem play an important role in expressing the views of Palestinians and in providing information.”
(Washington correspondent Howard Rosenberg contributed to this report.)
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