Six Palestinians killed, including a Fatah leader
Six Palestinian were killed on Thursday by the Israeli troopers, including two women while tens were wounded. Meantime, Israel on Thursday escalated its acts against the Palestinians. It attacked civilian coaches by missiles.
Detailed news reports from the occupied Palestinian territories said that two Palestinian women were killed as a result of the Israeli helicopter bombardment to a Palestinian civilian coach in Beit Sahour in the West bank. The attack also resulted in killing two Palestinians one of them is a leading figure in the Fatah movement.
Palestinian medical sources said that Aziza Jibran ( 57 year old) was killed after she was strongly wounded at Makasid hospital in Jerusalem and Rahma Shahin ( 52 ) died at Beit Jala hospital near Beit Sahour in the West bank.
Eye-witnesses said the two women were killed by the bombardment of the two Israeli helicopters while standing in the street when an Israeli helicopter attacked a truck driven by Hussein Abyad, one of the leading figures at the Fatah movement who was also killed in the bombardment.
The chairman of the operations department at the central military area in Israel Yaqoub Zeighdon admitted on Thursday that an Israeli helicopter bombarded near Bethlehem in the West bank a small Palestinian truck, among its passengers was one of the Fatah official. The attack on this Fatah official is viewed as an assasination operation.
Hussein Muhammad Salem was also killed in Beit Sahour and the Palestinian youth Mahmoud kamel ( 18 year old ) died after he was hit in his chest by the Israeli fire in Khan Younis confrontations where 20 Palestinians were wounded.
Israeli security sources said that a helicopter for the Israeli army fired three missiles on a small coach near Bethlehem city.
On the other hand, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Thursday discussed with the US President Bill Clinton and the US secretary of State Madeleine Albright the Palestinian conditions and what is called, putting an end to the wave of violence in Palestine, as well as the possibility of deploying an international force to protect the Palestinians.
The Israeli circles ruled out any progress in the talks as a result of the continued deterioration of conditions in Palestine and the Palestinian forces criticized the meeting and called for continuing the uprising.