Arabs in Israel and West Bank Stage Protests Against Attack on Students in Hebron

Arabs in both the West Bank and in Israel undertook acts of protest today against the murderous gunfire attack by unidentified masked gunmen who killed three students and wounded 33 others at the Islamic College in Hebron Tuesday but the protests were mild and only a few clashes with Israeli security forces were reported,

A number of Arab municipalities in Israel staged two-hour protest strikes, at the initiative of the National Committee of Mayors of such cities. A special prayer was scheduled at mosques throughout Israel on Friday which is the Moslem Sabbath. Sec- urity forces were placed on special alert to prevent any disturbances after the prayers.

Authorities said a special alert was ordered in the Old City of Jerusalem, where Friday prayers at the Mosques on Temple Mount have repeatedly been the source of Arab nationalist reactions.

On the West Bank, the atmosphere was tense today, A partial strike was organized in various Arab towns. The curfew in Hebron, lifted this morning, was reim posed earlier than had been planned, after demonstrations broke out. Strikes by shops in East Jerusalem were described as almost total.

NO PROGRESS IN PROBE OF THE ATTACK ON STUDENTS

Meanwhile, no progresswas reported in the investigation into the attack on the Islamic College. Officials said the special investigation team was hampered, partly because the assault was described as “very professional,” carried out swiftly — in no more than five to seven minutes –and partly because the team has no eyewitness accounts. Such accounts as the team has found are partly contradictory.

Authorities cited, as an example, that testimonies differ on the license plates of the murder vehicle and the investigators concede they have no information that might lead them to the identity of the vehicle, or the killers.

Intelligence efforts in the Jewish settlements also presents problems, mainly because the Jews there constitute a highly homogeneous group whose members stick together. There have been no arrests in the assault. The municipal council of Kiryat Arba, a Jewish suburb of Hebron, issued a statement yesterday condemning the hit-and-run killers and urging the government to act strongly against “all acts of violence in Hebron.”