Israeli Girl, Two Arabs Killed in Riot

BEITA, Occupied West Bank--A holiday hike by Israeli teen-agers ended yesterday in a melee of shooting and stone-throwing in an Arab town in which a 14-year-old Israeli girl and two Palestinians were killed.

Hours after the clash, Jewish settlers raided the nearby Arab village of Hawwara, smashing car windshields, beating villagers and breaking into homes, said Jihad Howari, the Israeli-appointed head of the village council.

The girl's death was the first of an Israeli civilian in the violence that has swept the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since December 8. At least 140 Arabs have died, according to U.N. figures, and one Israeli soldier has been killed.

The youngsters, children of Jewish settlers on the occupied West Bank, were on a Passover outing and had stopped for a picnic lunch when the trouble began with stone-throwing. Members of the group said Arabs offering to help then led them to Beita.

Arabs wrestled two automatic rifles from the group's two Israeli guards but did not fire them, the army reported.

Arab witnesses said the Israelis started the trouble by killing a Palestininan.

Army spokesmen originally said the girl, Tirza Porat, and several other teen-agers were shot but reported later that she was killed by a rock.

Eleven of the 18 hikers, the 60-year-old man acting as guide and one of the two Israeli guards were injured and two Palestinians were wounded by gunfire, the army said.

Dozens of settlers waving an Israeli flag later held a nighttime vigil about a half a mile from Beita, and said they would build a new settlement in the area. Army officials said the settlers left after several hours at the urging of troops who surrounded the village.

Scores of angry settlers also demonstrated in front of Yitzhak Rabin's home and called on him to resign, Israel radio said.

Israelis have been especially sensitive to the possibility of attacks on children, and warnings followed yesterday's fatal confrontation.

Foriegn Minister Shimon Peres said on Israel radio: "Israel will cut off the murderers' hands and will not let the evil terror achieve its aim."

According to Israeli witnesses and the army, the hikers stopped for a picnic lunch in a dry riverbed just outside Beita, 10 miles southeast of Nablus. Shmuel Fuchs, 15, said they had just sat down when a group of Arabs started throwing rocks.

The Israelis left the area, but soon "we discovered we were being followed by dozens of Arabs," said Fuchs, whose right arm and chest were bandaged. He spoke from his bed in Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital.

He said some of the Arabs, apparently wanting to help, offered to lead the teen-agers out of the area through Beita, a town of about 12,000 people.

Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, the army chief of staff, said dozens of people began throwing stones at the youngsters in Beita and the shooting started. He said the Israeli girl and the two Arabs were killed during the battle.

Israeli television showed CBS footage of Israeli teen-agers inside the village, some with blood stains on their faces and clothes, screaming at cameramen to called the army for help.

One Israeli youngster wearing a yarmulke, the traditional head cover of Jews, waved a red scarf at a helicopter hovering overhead as Arab ambulance attendants rushed the wounded into their vehicles.

A cameraman was seen consoling a girl who crouched beside a puddle of blood.

Shomron told reporters outside Beita some residetns tried to help the Israeli youngsters, including several women who hid three girls inside their homes.

"I want to say that within this event there were locals who tried to protect the children from the others," Shomron said. "We certainly thank those who helped."

The army said one teen-ager was held hostage briefly, but was found by soldiers in a house-to-house search.

Arab witnesses claimed the Israelis provoked the clash.

They said the armed guards fired on Arabs who approached the Israelis, killing a 19-year-old Palestinian, and his angry companions then charged the hikers.

"The first man who was killed, Mousa Saleh Abu Shamseh, was plowing his land," said Mohammed Abbas Aly, 20, who said he was in the field when the fight took place.

"When people heard a farmer was killed they attacked the settlers with axes, picks and rocks. There was hand-to-hand fighting," Aly said in an interview at Al Ittihad Hospital in Nablus.