http://www.boston.com/dailynews/271/world/Palestinians_mark_anniversary_:.shtml

Palestinians mark anniversary of fighting; seven killed, dozens injured in separate clashes

By Karin Laub, Associated Press, 9/28/2001 19:30

JERUSALEM (AP) Pledging to sustain their uprising against Israel, thousands of Palestinians marched Friday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to mark the anniversary of the fighting. Elsewhere, six Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, but the bloodshed did not derail efforts to implement a truce.

A seventh Palestinian died when a bomb he was preparing exploded prematurely.

In addition to the deaths, at least 40 Palestinians and six Israelis were hurt in confrontations reminiscent in scope of the early days of the fighting.

The two sides traded blame for the violence, but said they would go ahead with truce provisions, despite deep skepticism. The cease-fire terms were worked out earlier this week in talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Security commanders from both sides met Friday, and Israel said that in a first step, it would ease some of its security blockades of Palestinian towns.

The United States has been pressing both sides to end the fighting that has claimed 655 lives on the Palestinian side and 177 on the Israeli side.

Washington wants calm in the Middle East in order to win Arab and Muslim support for a campaign against Islamic militants believed to be behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called Arafat Friday to discuss the latest developments and security meeting, and the two agreed to be in contact in the coming days, Arafat's office said.

Sirens wailed in some towns as Palestinians observed three minutes of silence and traffic came to a halt. In one district, children carried 92 torches, one for each Palestinian killed in that area.

Across the Arab world, thousands of people marked the first anniversary of Israeli-Palestinian fighting with calls for holy war to ''liberate Palestine.'' Marchers denounced the United States and its anti-terrorism campaign.

Many Palestinians said they had mixed feelings about the cease-fire. They welcomed an easing of the Israeli closures but said that after a year of hardships, the uprising should not be called off without an achievement.

''We have given a lot for this land,'' said Walid Ifha, a 35-year-old school teacher in the West Bank town of Ramallah. ''To end the uprising without a result is not fair. We should continue until we get what we want.''

Arafat's Cabinet, meeting Friday night, called on the Palestinians to refrain from violence ''and not give the Israeli occupation an excuse to launch a military aggression against our people,'' a statement said.

Previous cease-fire deals in the past year quickly unraveled, but there was some expectation that the current truce might hold, with neither Israel nor the Palestinians wanting to be seen as defying Washington's wishes.

Yet despite the truce efforts, violence has continued. Since Wednesday's Peres-Arafat meeting, 13 Palestinians have been killed.

Friday's events began after noon prayers at mosques across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Marches snaked through several towns and refugee camps, with speakers urging Palestinians not to stop their uprising.

In the West Bank town of Nablus, some 10,000 people, including supporters of Arafat's Fatah movement and the Islamic militant Hamas group, took to the streets.

Fatah gunmen fired in the air, then planted olive trees in the main square. Hamas supporters chanted: ''We want more suicide bombings.''

Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader in the town of Ramallah, said: ''The first year of the uprising has shaken the Israeli occupation. The second year will be decisive in ending the Israeli occupation.''

The fighting erupted Sept. 28, 2000, after Ariel Sharon, now Israel's prime minister, visited a contested holy site in Jerusalem's Old City.

In the most violent incident Friday, three Palestinians were killed and three injured, two seriously, when an Israeli tank fired at a group of Palestinians in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security officials said.

The Israeli army spokesman had no immediate comment. But the Palestinian officials said they were looking into the possibility that the three killed were laying an explosive to be detonated against Israeli troops.

In the West Bank village of Bani Naim, soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at stone-throwers and then came under fire from a Palestinian police checkpoint, the army said. Soldiers returned fire, and Palestinians said the shots killed a 10-year-old Palestinian boy.

In another West Bank village, Al Khader, a 17-year-old Palestinian youth was killed by Israeli fire, Palestinian security officials said. The army said troops chased Palestinians who had thrown an explosive at an army post, and a gun battle ensued.

In nearby Hebron, Palestinian gunmen shot at Israeli troops, drawing return fire that killed a 25-year-old man and wounded 12 other Palestinians.

The largest number of Palestinian wounded was reported at the Karni crossing between Gaza and Israel. Twenty-five stone throwers, ranging in age from 14 to 23, were hit by Israeli fire, doctors said.

Two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded by gunfire in confrontations, and four Israeli civilians were injured in a car accident when Palestinians threw stones at their vehicle in the West Bank.

Despite the tensions, both sides said they were determined to make the truce stick.

''It's a matter of life and death for our people, and for the Israelis,'' Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said of the cease-fire.

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2001