Two Palestinians, one of whom was said to be a leading terrorist, were killed and others wounded by Israeli soldiers over the weekend during an unusual spate of violence in the administered territories.
The Israel Defense Force spokesman reported that Israeli troops encountered two suspects in the area of the West Bank town of Jenin and ordered them to stop. When they allegedly refused to halt, the soldiers fired in their direction, killing one and wounding the other.
The dead man was identified as Mohammed Sadek Mahmoud Kamil, 20, of Kabatiya, a member of the violent Black Panther group, who had been on Israel’s “most-wanted list” since April 1991. Kamil, who was known as Taktak, was allegedly responsible for a series of murders of Palestinians he had suspected of collaborating with the authorities.
During the course of the incident, another Palestinian began throwing stones at the soldiers. When he refused to obey an order to stop, the soldiers fired at him, killing him.
Violent demonstrations, which had become increasingly rare, took place Saturday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, with the army using live fire to disperse demonstrators. Two protesters were reportedly wounded in the clash.
A similar clash took place on Saladin Street in East Jerusalem, the main thoroughfare in the eastern part of the capital.
The political atmosphere has heated up in the territories with the weeklong hunger strike by thousands of Arab security prisoners in Israeli jails, who are demanding better prison conditions.
Family members and others have staged demonstrations in sympathy with the prisoners. Last Thursday, a protest march in Gaza became violent. Palestinian youths threw stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded with live fire, wounding two demonstrators.
The hunger strike is taking place at eight prisons within Israel and the territories.
Israeli authorities have challenged the reasons for this strike. They say they knew for months in advance that a protest would be staged at this time.
Police Minister Moshe Shahal has said there is no discrimination between criminal prisoners in Israel and Arab security prisoners, that the prison standards are those set by the International Red Cross and he therefore would not deal with their demands before they put an end to their fast.
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