The general strike called to observe Land Day was only partially effective among Israel’s Arab population today although tension ran high and there were scattered disorders. But unrest seethed on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem where the strike was virtually total and about 35 persons were arrested in widespread disturbances.
Israeli authorities said today that only nine of the 21 Arab municipal councils in Galilee participated in the strike called by the Hadash (Communist) Party and that 60 percent of the Arab work force showed up for their jobs in factories and service industries despite pressures to stay away. Elementary school children attended classes in Arab towns and villages. Teachers also showed up in face of disciplinary measures threatened by the civil service authorities. But high school students took the day off.
MOST EFFECTIVE IN NAZARETH
The strike was most effective in Nazareth, a Communist stronghold where most shops were closed and schools were empty. Some local merchants said they shut down because of threats from radicals. The strike was observed in Arab villages near Nazareth but hardly noticeable in those further away. In some localities, Arab youths set up road blocks, bumed tires and stoned vehicles. A few Palestinian flags were raised but were immediately torn down by police.
About 2500 people marched peacefully in the Arab village of Taibe near Kfar Saba. But in Arabe village in Galilee, local residents stoned the police station and were dispersed with tear gas. Several persons were arrested.
Eight members of the strike committee in Nazareth were arrested but released later in the day. No significant disturbances were reported in the “mixed cities” such as Jaffa, Acre and Ramle which have sizeable Arab minorities. The Druze and Bedouin communities ignored the strike.
MOST SERIOUS INCIDENTS IN JERUSALEM
The most serious incidents inside Israel occurred in Jerusalem. A hand grenade exploded in the parking lot of a department store in the center of the city causing no casualties. But several cars were damaged. Police said the grenade was thrown from the upper floors of an adjacent building. A search was underway for the perpetrators.
An Egged bus travelling from central Jerusalem to the suburb of Neve Yaacov was stoned as it passed through the Arab village of Shuafat. The driver fired into the air and was detained by the police for investigation. A Palestinian flag raised on the mosque in Shuafat was tom down by police.
Six Arabs from the Beit Zefafa suburb of Jerusalem were arrested when they tried to block the road into the village and the railway line from Jerusalem to the coastal plain.
STRIKE PARALYZES WEST BANK
East Jerusalem and most towns and villages on the West Bank were paralyzed by a general strike called in sympathy with Israeli Arabs marking Land Day. Security forces were kept busy removing roadblocks and barriers of buming tires and dodging rocks thrown at Israeli vehicles. The security officer of the Etzion bloc of settlements south of Jerusalem was attacked by stone-throwers but escaped unharmed.
About 20 people were arrested in the Samaria district for allegedly inciting the local population to violence. The Balata refugee camp near Nablus and the Deheyshe refugee camp near Bethlehem were placed under partial curfew.
The strike was almost total in the Gaza Strip were several military vehicles were stoned and tires were burned. No demonstration were reported there.
About 15 employes of the East Jerusalem Arabic newspaper Al-Fajer were arrested when they marched in protest against censorship by Israeli military authorities and the restrictions imposed on distribution of the paper on the West Bank. The arrests were made after the employes refused police orders to disperse. Al-Fajer and another Arabic paper, Al-Shaab did not appear today in solidarity with the strike.
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