JENIN,
West Bank, October 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Palestinian
taxi-driver, shot by Israeli troops for venturing out during a curfew
in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, died of his wounds Sunday,
October 6.
Palestinian
medics said that Aisa Hamarshi, 51, was hit Saturday, October 5, in
the head by a bullet fired from an Israeli tank and evacuated to a
hospital inside the Jewish state, in an incident which left two other
people slightly hurt, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
His
death brought to 2,549 the number of people killed since the outbreak
of the Palestinian Intifada (against Israeli occupation) in September
2000, including 1,883 Palestinians (mostly women and children) and 615
Israelis. The rest are foreigners caught up in the conflict.
Another
Palestinian was shot dead by Jewish settlers Sunday in the village of
Akrabeh, near Nablus, Palestinian medical sources said.
Hani
Mustapha, 24, was killed when a group of settlers fired on him and
other Palestinians working in their fields, gathering the olive
harvest, witnesses said.
Another
Palestinian was also injured.
Akrabeh
is around 10 kilometers south of the city of Nablus.
Witnesses
said that the settlers first arrived in the morning and fired shots at
the Palestinians, injuring one man in the arm.
The
Israeli army arrived soon after and moved them on, but locals said
they later came back and opened fire again, fatally shooting Mustapha
in the stomach.
The
army said it was looking into the incident.
"A
group of 10 to 12 armed settlers opened fire and tried to disperse the
olive-pickers," said Ghaled Myadmeh, mayor of Akraba. "They
opened fire extensively and Hani Yusuf, 24, was killed and another man
wounded," reported Israeli daily newspaper, Ha'aretz.
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An Israeli tank did that to his tomatoes
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In
a separate incident earlier Sunday near the West Bank village of Luban
al-Sharkiyeh, an Israeli settler was arrested on charges of shooting
and wounding a Palestinian man during confrontations between settlers
and Palestinians.
Three
Israelis who were found in an abandoned building in the village were
also taken into custody.
In
another development, Israeli authorities on the border between the
southern Gaza Strip and Egypt closed the crossing to all Palestinian
men aged between 17 and 45, Palestinian security officials at the
Rafah border crossing said Sunday.
The
officials said that they were informed by the Israelis of the new
order earlier Sunday, adding that Rafah is the only place where
Palestinians can leave the Gaza Strip, sealed off on all other sides
by fences and Israeli checkpoints.
An
army spokeswoman said she was looking into the new regulations.
The
Palestinians also said Israeli authorities closed down another Rafah
crossing leading from Israel into the Gaza Strip, through which all
building equipment is shipped.
They
added that hundreds of workers normally allowed through to work in
Israel were waiting at the crossing, while scores more were blocked at
the Egyptian border, after the number of people allowed to cross in
either direction was slashed from about 500 a day to 100.
International
humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned against the
increasingly deteriorating living conditions for the Palestinians
under the Israeli occupation. However, the warnings appear to be
falling into deaf ears, as Israel is pressing ahead with its policy of
blockades, curfews, destruction and abductions.
