Palestinians on Strike; Arab Protester Killed

JERUSALEM —  Palestinians staged a general strike across the occupied territories today to protest mass arrests of Arabs. Hospital officials said one Arab protester was killed and two were wounded in clashes with Israeli soldiers.

The strike, ordered by the PLO-affiliated underground leadership, was to support 4,800 Palestinians detained by Israeli troops since an Arab uprising was launched last December.

Most of the 110,000 Palestinians with jobs in Israel did not show up for work. Arab shop owners closed their doors in the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jerusalem and Gaza.

Protests at Refugee Camps

Since Dec. 8, 144 Palestinians and two Israelis have been killed in anti-occupation unrest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to U.N. figures.

Protests broke out today in two refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and two cities in the West Bank, according to Arab media reports.

Wael Hassan Asmar, 24, was shot in the heart and died at Al Ittihad Hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The two wounded were identified as 12-year-old Mohammed Fuad Taha, who lost his right eye after being hit by a rubber bullet in Tulkarem, and Rebhi Shihada Rehan, 17, who was in critical condition with a bullet wound in the stomach, a Nablus hospital official said.

Toxic Gas Use Denied

The army denied allegations that soldiers were using tear gas improperly against Palestinians or using a particularly toxic form of the gas.

“There is absolutely no truth to the report we are using a new type of toxic gas. The Israeli army does not use any toxic gases in dealing with Palestinian demonstrators,” an army spokesman said.

Dr. John Hiddlestone, director of health affairs for the U.N. Relief Works Agency, repeated today that Palestinians are suffering abdominal pain, miscarriages and muscular weakness from tear gas. He said the symptoms are not usually associated with the gas.