Nablus man, suspected collaborators die

Press, 8 October 1988, Page 11

Nablus man, suspected collaborators die

NZPA-Reuter Jerusalem

Three Palestinians from occupied West Bank have died violently as troops shot a Nablus resident and Palestinians killed two men suspected of collaborating with Israeli security forces. The deaths brought to 292 the toll of Palestinians who have died in nearly 19 months of an uprising against Israeli military rule in West Bank and Gaza Strip. Six Israelis have also died.

Troops using plastic and live bullets shot and wounded 14 Palestinians in other clashes in the territories on Thursday, most of them in Gaza’s towns and refugee camps.

Gazans prepared for the second day of a general strike in the seaside

strip, called by the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement to mark the first anniversary of a fatal clash between four of its guerrillas and an Israeli secret service agent. In clashes on Thursday evening in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinians said troops chased stonethrowing youths into the Salah ed-Din mosque, firing at worshippers and injuring five people.

Residents later found the body of Adnan Khanfa, aged 27, hands bound, who bled to death from a gunshot wound in the leg, they said. The Army confirmed that troops attacked by stone-throwers shot and killed Khanfa and wounded four in the incident, but denied troops

stormed into the mosque. The chief of Bidya village nicknamed “the man of seven souls” for surviving several assassination attempts was shot dead and his body torched by Palestinians who suspected him of spying for Israel. Two sons of the village chief, Mustafa Abu Bakr, were shot and wounded in the attack.

Meanwhile police arrested a Palestinian suspected of killing Ahmed Za’arour, aged 25, in a coffeehouse in Umm el Fahm in Israel, Israel Radio reported. He had fled his home in nearby Anin to escape youth activists who believed he collaborated with Israel.

Shops throughout Gaza closed on Thursday, public transport stopped and workers stayed away

from their jobs in Israel in response to the strike call.

In the run-up to Israeli General Elections on November 1, the two main parties both said they would maintain security and bring peace if elected.

In Government-allotted television time, the Right-wing Likud candidate, Benjamin Netanyahu, said, “We believe in this nation, its future, its strength, in the young generation ... for real peace. Likud will bring peace, I promise you.” The Left-leaning Labour leader, Shimon Peres, meanwhile implored, “We can open negotiations immediately (after elections). Give us a mandate to start negotiations..”