The son of an Arab village chief who has cooperated closely with Israeli authorities on the West Bank was killed today in a terrorist assassination attempt. The victim, Khazem Al-Khatib, 23, died instantly when unidentified gunmen fired bullets apparently intended for his father, Yussuf Al-Khatib, 60, who was seriously wounded. The elder Al-Khatib was rushed to Ramallah Hospital where his condition was reported to be “stable.”
The Palestine News Agency Wafa in Beirut quoted a terrorist military spokesman as saying today that a guerrilla unit “carried out the people’s sentence against agents Yussuf Al-Khatib and his son Khazem.” The spokesman threatened “all enemy agents involved in the self-rule plan” for the West Bank, Wafa reported.
Yussuf Al-Khatib is chairman of the Ramallah Region Farmers Association which has close ties with the Israeli Military Government. The Association was established a year ago to create an alternative local leadership to the Palestine Liberation Organization.
There are, at present, three such associations operating and two more in the making. The strongest is the Hebron Region Farmers Association headed by Mustapha Doudin, a former Jordanian government minister. PLO supporters have accused the leaders of the associations of being “quislings” and the terrorist media has threatened them with death.
CLIMAXED TWO WEEKS OF UNREST
The attack on the Al-Khatibs occurred at a road intersection this morning while they were driving from their home village of Bil’in to Ramallah. It climaxed two weeks of unrest on the West Bank protesting plans by Detense Minister Ariel Sharon to transfer local administrative functions from the military to Israel-appointed local civilian authorities, including Palestinians.
The protestors contend that the move is intended to strengthen Israel’s grip on the occupied territories. In response to demonstrations, stonings of Israeli vehicles and an attack on an army vehicle with Malotov cocktails, the Israeli authorities blew up four houses in Ramallah and Beit Sahour Sunday. A fifth was demolished in Bethlehem last night. The authorities claimed that the owners of the houses or their occupants were involved in terrorist acts.
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