Tension Escalates in the West Bank

Tension and unrest escalated in the West Bank, chiefly in and around Nablus where a Jewish settler, Yosef Stern from nearby Bracha, was attacked with an axe in the local marketplace early Monday, sustaining wounds on his back, head and hand. He is being treated at Beillinson Hospital in Petach Tikva where his condition was reported to be “moderate.”

There were several attacks on Arabs Monday night which may have been reprisals by Jewish settlers, though settlers deny it, and further rock-throwing by Arab youths against Israeli vehicles.

The most serious incidents were the attacks on two Arab guards at Najah University in Nablus Monday night. The guards were badly beaten by their assailants whom they could not identify. One of the victims, Ibrahim Hillayel, 55, suffered a broken arm and was hospitalized.

Dr. Sharif Kanani, president of the university, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it was “unlikely that they (the attackers) were Arabs.” An Arab bus was set afire on the southern outskirts of Nablus shortly after midnight. The driver did not know who was responsible.

MANY JEWS DEMANDING REVENGE

Jewish settlers denied any knowledge of these incidents, though they admitted that spirits were running high and that many Jews were demanding revenge for the attack on Stern and the rock-throwing. Arab youths stoned Israeli vehicles in various parts of the territory. In one case, a civilian driver fired into the air to disperse them; in another soldiers fired into the air.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Jewish settlers in the Judaea and Samaria regions held several emergency meetings near Nablus yesterday and Monday in connection with the attack on Stem. They were due to meet later with Acting Defense Minister Mordechai Zipori and Chief of Staff Gen. Moshe Levy.

The settlers have been sharply critical of the army and the government for allegedly not providing adequate protection for Jews in the territory. But they insisted they are bound by a promise made to Premier Yitzhak Shamir and Defense Minister Moshe Arens before their departure for Washington Sunday not to react violently against Arabs.

They adopted a resolution pledging no “clandestine” action in reprisal for the attack on Stem. Nevertheless, they warned at a press conference that if the authorities failed to maintain law and order, the settlers “have other options in stock.”