Palestinian Boy Shot Dead as Egypt Resumes Truce Efforts

01/01/2004| IslamWeb

A 16-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed Jabr Saeed, was killed late Wednesday night after Israeli soldiers fired at him in the village of Usarin, east of the West Bank city of Nablus. On Thursday afternoon, two Israeli officers suffered light wounds from an explosive device detonated near their vehicle in the Old City quarter of Nablus, Israel Radio reported. Earlier, Israel has expelled a suspected Islamic Jihad activist from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian security officials said early Thursday. Mustafa Abed, a 40-year-old father of seven from the West Bank city of Nablus, was taken to Gaza by the Israeli military on Wednesday, they said. The expulsions have been condemned by human rights groups and Palestinian officials as a violation of international law. An Israeli military source confirmed the expulsion and said Abed belonged to Islamic Jihad and that he had been exiled to Gaza for a period of two years as a "preventive measure." Meanwhile, Osama el-Baz, top aide to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, on Thursday held talks with Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat and other senior Palestinian officials, as part of Egyptian attempts to forge a truce. During the meeting, the Egyptian envoy urged the Palestinians to lead the way toward ending more than three years of violence with Israel, saying he is hopeful that Israel will respond favorably to such moves. El-Baz voiced some optimism after the talks with Arafat. "We are deeply concerned to get out of this problematic situation which threatens the whole region," he said. "What I heard from President Arafat makes me more hopeful for the future." **PHOTO CAPTION*** A Palestinian boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands next to a burning tire during a protest against the building of the separation barrier in the West Bank Palestinian village of Budrus, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)