- Title: WEST BANK: ISRAELI SOLDIERS WOUND 28 PALESTINIANS WITH RUBBER BULLETS
- Date: 17th June 1997
- Summary: HEBRON, WEST BANK, JUNE 17 (RTV) SLV YOUTH BRANDISHING BURNING ISRAELI FLAG 0.22 SLV YOUTHS THROWING STONES 0.29 MCU SOLDIER TAKING AIM 0.34 SLV SOLDIER SHELTERING FROM STONES 0.39 SLV/SV SOLDIERS CHARGING/ CLIMBING ON ROOF/ TAKING COVER (7 SHOTS) 1.11 CU/SV INJURED YOUTH ON STRETCHER BEING CARRIED TO AMBULANCE (2 SHOTS) 1.22 SLV/CU/SV INTERIOR OPERATING THEATRE (3 SHOTS) 1.33 SV DOCTOR SPEAKING (ENGLISH), SAYING THIS IS A SEVERE CASE, IT IS CRITICAL. I HAVE HAD THREE CASES SHOT BY RUBBER BULLETS, ALL SERIOUS (ENGLISH) 1.48 LV/SLV TROOPS TAKE COVER/MAN BEING ARRESTED (2 SHOTS) 2.03 LV/SLV FLAMING MISSILE LANDING (2 SHOTS) 2.13 RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JUNE 17, 1997) (RTV) LAS EXTERIOR PALESTINIAN LEADERS' OFFICES 2.16 MCU SENIOR PALESTINIAN PEACE NEGOTIATOR SAEB EREKAT SPEAKING (ENGLISH) SAYING IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MR. NETANYAHU HAS ALREADY GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT TO THESE SETTLERS TO ESCALATE THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND. EVERY DAY WE HAVE A NEW EXPANSION OF LAND, EVERY DAY WE HAVE A NEW CONFISCATION OF LAND, EVERY DAY WE HAVE A NEW EXPANSION OF SETTLEMENTS, A NEW FAIT ACCOMPLI OF POLICIES WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO CLASHES BETWEEN PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS AND THAT'S THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF MR. NETANYAHU" (ENGLISH) 2.16 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 2nd July 1997 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HEBRON AND RAMALLAH, WEST BANK
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Conflict,General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA6NKNIDC58T09ZIZF05V1ER9BR
- Story Text: Israeli soldiers have shot and wounded 28 Palestinians with rubber bullets in the divided West Bank town of Hebron after tensions boiled over into a fourth consecutive day of clashes.
Several dozen Palestinian youths threw stones and petrol bombs at the troops in streets around a fortified Jewish settler enclave in the heart of the town on Tuesday (June 17).
The soldiers, on the ground and on surrounding roofs, withheld fire until one Palestinian youth set fire to a large Israeli flag and paraded it before them.
The soldiers opened fire, wounding the flag-waving youth in the leg. As the street battle intensified, the soldiers fired rubber bullets and used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the Arabs.
Officials at the local al-Ahli hospital said a 12-year-old boy was in critical condition after a bullet penetrated his head. A 72-year-old Palestinian passerby was also in serious condition from a bullet which hit him in the forehead.
Some 26 other Palestinians were wounded, they said.
The last four days of violence have underscored rising Israel-PLO tensions over a three-month deadlock in peace efforts.
Palestinians have protested against what they see as an Israeli drive to expand Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank to pre-empt final peace negotiations.
Speaking in Ramallah, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said it seemed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given the go-ahead for Jewish settlers to escalate the situation on the disputed land.
Netanyahu was responsible for the fresh Jewish land claims every new day brought, and the clashes they had provoked, he said.
Israel handed 80 percent of Hebron to Palestinian rule under an interim peace deal in January but kept troops at the heart of the town to protect some 400 Jewish settlers who live there in fortified enclaves. About 100,000 Arabs live in Hebron.
On Monday, soldiers shot and wounded at least 38 Palestinians in clashes in the town. More than 100 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have been wounded in the four days of clashes.
Right-wing legislators said they would go to Gaza later on Tuesday to plant trees on disputed land there. Settlers said Palestinians were gathering near the Morag settlement in the strip ahead of the legislators arrival. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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