BEIT OMAR, ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK — Israeli soldiers firing into a stone-throwing crowd killed three Palestinians in this tiny village Sunday as demonstrations flared all along the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In addition, a 15-year-old boy from the Gaza Strip died Sunday after soldiers reportedly clubbed him on the head Saturday, and a 10-year-old boy died overnight of gunshot wounds suffered Friday, bringing the cumulative death toll in the unrest to at least 48 Palestinians.
The toll of killed and wounded Sunday was the highest in two months of protests, with dozens of Palestinians treated in hospitals for gunshot wounds or severe beatings. The Israelis employed every tactic at hand-gunfire, beatings and curfews-to contain the protests.
The Israeli Cabinet, meeting in its role as the Ministerial Defense Committee, heard reports from Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the army chief of staff, Gen. Dan Shomron, who said there was no immediate end to the unrest in sight.
The protests swept through the Palestinian districts in response to leaflets distributed by the secret National Unified Command of the Uprising. The underground Palestinian leadership group illustrated its ability to coordinate demonstrations throughout the occupied territories.
Cities, villages and refugee districts throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Arab East Jerusalem looked like ghost towns as Palestinians observed the call for a strike Sunday and Monday to mark the end of the second month of protests.