Israeli stabbed in Gaza; Arab homes torched

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JERUSALEM — Two assailants stabbed an Israeli in the back Thursday in the occupied Gaza Strip as Jewish settlers torched Arab houses in the occupied West Bank in retaliation for a series of attacks on Jews, authorities said.

In a wave of escalating violence in the territories Israel has occupied since 1967, Moshe Fitousi, 25, was stabbed three times in the back and shoulder by two assailants when he stopped his truck at a gas station in Gaza’s Palestine Square, military officials said. Fitousi, of Beersheba, was taken to a hospital by helicopter. He was in critical condition after surgery.

Military sources said soldiers imposed a curfew in the area and rounded up suspects. A witness to the roundup, who would not reveal his name, said about 500 people were detained.

In the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Jewish settlers torched Arab houses and daubed them with slogans such as, “You are fair game,” and “Jews will live here,” in retaliation for attacks on Israelis.

The houses belong to Palestinians freed in May by Israel as part of an unpopular swap of 1,150 Arab and other prisoners for three Israeli prisoners of war. Recent attacks on Israelis include the stabbing Tuesday of two Israeli soldiers at Hebron’s market. One of the soldiers died.

Last month, a Jewish settler at Hebron was stabbed and wounded and a rabbi was stabbed near Jerusalem’s old city one week ago, prompting Israeli officials to warn Jordan it would attack Palestinian guerrilla centers in Amman if members were not expelled from that country.

The Palestine Liberation Organization denied involvement in Tuesday’s stabbings, saying the attacks were simply reactions to Israel’s “repressive measures.” Israel has responded to the violence by detaining 62 West Bank Palestinians without trial in the last two weeks.

It also ordered 25 Palestinians deported, but their expulsions were delayed pending appeals. The Jewish settlers want to expand the Jewish presence at Tel Rumeida and link it with Jewish neighborhoods they want built in the Arab city of Hebron, home to 60,000 Arabs. They also want 600 recently freed Arab prisoners deported on grounds that they are behind the attacks on Jews.

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"Israeli stabbed in Gaza; Arab homes torched," The Miami Herald, 6 September 1985. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1985-016. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1985-016