Two West Bank residents were killed and a third was wounded when Israeli bolder police opened fire on demonstrators in Halhoul, a village near Hebron today. The victims were identified as Masri el Anani, 21 and a 17-year-old girl student, Rabaya Shalalda, who died of wounds at Hebron Hospital. Another student, Yusuf Saleh Badawi, sustained slight injuries.
The Military Government ordered an immediate investigation of the incident, described as the worst in the wave of violence that has swept the West Bank during the past week in protest against an Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Gen. Moshe Levi, commander of the central front, rushed to Halhoul where a curfew was imposed. Disorders also occurred today in East Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem. Beth Shour and Jericha. In several instances border police used tear gas bombs to disperse demonstrators.
Meanwhile, a dispute has arisen over the use of weapons by Gush Emunim settlers from Ofra to disperse Arabs who set up a roadblock outside the nearby Arab town of Ramallah Monday. The army declared that the use of arms by civilian settlers was illegal and demanded that the Gush give up their weapons. The Gush refused. Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon, who heads the ministerial settlement committee, visited Ofra today accompanied by Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Zipori to discuss the situation. The army insists that the Gush refrain from firing on demonstrators in Arab towns.
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