Strikes paralyzed much of East Jerusalem and several West Bank towns today in protest against yesterday’s bomb attacks which severely injured the mayors of Nablus and Ramallah and 10 other persons including a Druze police sapper. Tension ran high throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip where reinforced Israeli troops and police patrolled the streets and countryside.
There were no reports of further violence. Police in East Jerusalem attempted to force local Arab merchants to keep their shops and businesses open but most of the shopkeepers refused to comply with the orders. Those who did were protected by heavily armed guards around their premises. Israeli troops made no attempts to interfere with the strikes on the West Bank and in Gaza.
Mayor Elias Freij of Bethlehem and his town council announced their resignations in protest against the bombings. The local Military Governor failed to persuade Freij to change his mind and their conversation ended in a bitter exchange.
Mayor Rashad A-Shawa of Gaza and his local council quit yesterday. Freij and A-Shawa are considered moderates among the Palestinian leadership in the occupied territories. Observers believe that if their resignations are sustained it will inevitably lead to a further hardening of anti-Israel feelings among the local populace.
MAYORS RECOVER
Meanwhile, Mayor Bassam Shaka of Nablus, who lost both his legs in yesterday’s bombing and Mayor Karin Khollaf of Ramallah, who had his left foot amputated, appeared to be recovering from surgery. Shaka was still reported in serious condition although his life is not believed to be in danger.
The Druze police sapper, Suleiman Harbawi who was blinded by a bomb intended for Mayor Ibrahim Tawil of El Bireh, was reported in serious condition at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem after surgery on his eyes and brain. He was visited today by President Yitzhak Navon. Navon also sent get-well messages to the two mayors.
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