Israeli Occupation Army Kills 3 Palestinians

12/07/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: Scores of Palestinians Arrested Across the West Bank||Arab Foreign Ministers Meet in Cairo To Coordinate Positions Ahead of Quartet Meeting in New York on Tuesday||Arafat Says Won't Step Aside But Makes No Decision on Re-election Bid in January|| STORY: Israeli occupagtion forces shot dead a Palestinian policeman and a 13-year-old boy in the Gaza Strip on Friday, and a photographer died of his wounds a day after troops shot him in the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said. (Read photo caption)

The occupation army also arrested dozens of people in a major sweep for Resistance activists across the West Bank, including more than 50 men taken from the city of Jenin in a bus, Palestinian witnesses said.

Palestinian security sources said Israeli occupation troops entered the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and fired at a police station, killing policeman Khaled al-Khatib. Muain al-A'daini, 13, was shot dead as the troops withdrew, they said.

Hospital officials in Jenin said Imad Abu Zahra, 35, a Palestinian freelance reporter, died in hospital after he was shot on Thursday as the occupation army reimposed a curfew without warning.

They said he lost a lot of blood and fell into a coma before reaching hospital. A Palestinian press photographer was also wounded but survived.

Tensions remained high in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have reoccupied seven of the eight Palestinian-ruled cities.

Palestinian witnesses said the occupation army carried out new raids on Palestinian-ruled cities and villages. The army confirmed 15 arrests but Palestinian witnesses put the figures much higher.

Residents of Jenin, which Israel calls a hotbed of Resistance, said occupation soldiers called men aged 15 to 50 to the center of the city and then took more than 50 away in a bus.

It was not known where they were taken.

At least 1,442 Palestinians and 549 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinians rose up against Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in September 2000 after peace talks on statehood froze.

Nabil Abu Rdeinah, an aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, condemned the killings in Gaza. He said the bloodshed and continued Israeli occupation were a "serious challenge" to a meeting of major powers on the Middle East conflict next week.

ARAB FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN CAIRO TO COORDINATE POSITIONS

Representatives of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia will meet on Tuesday in New York.

A U.S. official said the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt and possibly Saudi Arabia could meet the group on Monday.

Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo on Friday to discuss President Bush's vision of a Palestinian state, after Palestinian leaders change, they end violence and reform.

His vision was greeted coolly by most Arab leaders.

ARAFAT SAYS HE WON'T STEP ASIDE

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat meanwhile vowed Friday to resist international pressure to step down but at the same time said he had made no decision on seeking re-election in January.

"It is not only up to me. It will be up to many people," Arafat said in an interview with The Associated Press and Bahrain television at his Ramallah compound. He has been periodically confined to the compound for months, ringed by Israeli tanks and soldiers.

In remarks that left room for interpretation in both directions, Arafat also said it would be cowardly to step down.

PHOTO CAPTION

(Top Left) Hospital workers prepare the bodies of Palestinians for their funeral in Deir al-Balah near Gaza city, July 12, 2002. Israeli troops shot dead a 20 year old policeman and 13-year old boy during a raid in the Gaza Strip on Friday. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh
- Jul 11 2:52 PM ET

(Bottom Left) An Israeli tank takes position in the Madbasse square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem during a curfew on July 12, 2002. Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian policeman and a 13-year-old boy in the Gaza Strip, and a photographer died of his wounds a day after troops shot him in the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said. (Magnus Johansson/Reuters)

(Top Right) Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat speaks to reporters at his Ramallah headquarters Friday, July 12, 2002. Arafat said Friday he had no immediate plans to step down from power, but at the same time said he hadn't decided whether to run in January elections.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

(Bottom Right) Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, center, and Palestinian Cabinet minister Nabil Shaath, left, are welomed by Abel Hamid, a protocol official, right, as they enter the Arab foreign ministers meeting at the Arab League in Cairo Friday, July 12, 2002. Eight Arab foreign ministers meet for talks on the latest development between Israel and Palestinians.(AP Phto/Amr Nabil)
- Jul 12 8:20 AM