A 16-year-old Palestinian boy, Nasser Ismail Nasser, was shot to death Wednesday morning in the middle of this small refugee camp, whose population numbers 8,000.
A friend of his, Waher Abu-Ghalyoun, 15, was wounded in the chest.
The circumstances of the shooting were unclear. The Israel Defense Force officer in charge began an investigation as camp residents hastened to bury the body in the local cemetery.
Events such as these are an almost daily occurrence since the Palestinian uprising began 13 months ago. They follow a familiar pattern.
At about noon, IDF jeeps sped into the refugee camp. Soldiers using loudspeakers declared a curfew “in effect until further notice.”
From an overlooking rooftop, an observer could see camp residents scurrying across the main street that runs through the heart of the camp. They rushed to their homes, fearful of being caught in the street during curfew.
It is almost a ritual: Local youths stone an army patrol. The soldiers fire at the youths. Somebody gets hurt.
If the victim is only wounded, business goes on as usual. But if someone dies, passions run high. The local residents are up in arms.
The IDF has learned that the surest damper is an immediate curfew.
That was the situation Wednesday. But while the IDF was imposing the curfew, the funeral procession for the slain teen-ager returned from the cemetery.
Such marches are considered taboo by the military authorities. But the soldiers did not intervene immediately.
They were too busy buttoning down the curfew. When they finally realized what was happening at the other side of the camp, they jumped into their jeeps and dispersed the mourners with tear gas.
Three other Gaza Strip residents were wounded in clashes with security forces Wednesday. In the West Bank, another Arab youth was wounded at the Amari refugee camp, near Ramallah.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
