Israeli Arabs demonstrated peacefully in observance of Land Day yesterday. But there was violence on the West Bank where an Arab youth was killed, five Israeli tourists were injured and about 20 persons were arrested in scattered rock-throwing and tire-burning incidents.
The death of a 17-year-old Arab in Tarkumiya village near Hebron is under investigation by the Israeli authorities. According to initial reports, he was shot by Israeli security forces during a violent demonstration in connection with Land Day. Israeli sources said later that the circumstances of his death were unclear and still under investigation.
The five tourists were hit by flying glass, apparently the result of rock-throwing near the Dehaishe refugee camp not far from Bethlehem. A general strike by Arab merchants in the larger West Bank towns was broken up by Israeli troops who forced them to re-open their shops. But all Arab shops and businesses in East Jerusalem remained closed for the day, without interference from Israeli authorities.
Israeli authorities took the precaution of closing all Arab schools on the West Bank and East Jerusalem a day prior to Land Day. They will reopen next week. Nevertheless, Israeli vehicles were stoned by Arab youths near the Kalandia refugee camp north of Jerusalem and from the ramparts of the Old City. Arab youths set fire to trash piles in the narrow alleys of the Old City. Two persons were slightly injured by stones thrown at a bus on the Mount of Olives.
NON-VIOLENT RALLIES IN GALILEE
In Israel itself, local Arabs held non-violent demonstrations in Galilee, the Sharon valley and the Negev. Interior Minister Yosef Burg said on a radio interview later that the “most noteworthy fact about today’s demonstration was their moderation.” He said it reflected “a certain maturity of the Arab population which perhaps is learning that both Arabs and Jews must live together peacefully.”
Land Day commemorates the death of six Israeli Arabs who were shot by security forces in 1976 during a demonstration protesting the confiscation of Arab land in Galilee by Israel. March 30 has since become a day of protest and mourning by Israeli Arabs. In recent years, they have been generally peaceful, in contrast to the violence on the West Bank engendered by the occasion.
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