(27 Mar 1997) Natural Sound
Fresh violence erupted between Palestinians and Israelis near the West Bank town of Bir Zeit, near Ramallah, Thursday.
About 100 Palestinian stone-throwers clashed with Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, on the seventh consecutive day of violence on the West Bank.
Israel has deployed more soldiers near Palestinian-controlled towns amid concern that violence would spread over the weekend and peak on Sunday when the Palestinians mark their annual Land Day to protest against Israeli land confiscations.
One week after Palestinians took to the streets, violent confrontation with Israeli troops continued Thursday.
Outside the West Bank town of Bir Zeit, dozens of Palestinians hurled stones from an overpass at Jewish settler cars on the road below.
The latest upsurge of violence has caused Israeli-Palestinian relations to disintegrate.
For the first time since the end of the 1987-1993 Intifada (uprising), Palestinian youths have resorted to stone-throwing, which Israel accuses the PLO of orchestrating.
As in the Intifada, Israeli troops are retaliating with tear gas and rubber bullets.
As the situation shows signs of deteriorating, Israeli media said troop reinforcements were being deployed at Israeli checkpoints outside Palestinian-controlled towns in the West Bank, and tanks were ready to move into position quickly.
During three days of gun battles between Israeli troops and Palestinian police in September, the checkpoints had been the focus of clashes.
Israel is concerned violence will escalate over the weekend, especially on Sunday, the anniversary of Israel's expropriation of Arab land in northern Israel in 1976, a move that triggered riots at the time.
Before peace talks can resume, Israel is demanding an end to the Palestinian riots and a clear signal from PLO leader Yasser Arafat to Islamic militants not to stage attacks in Israel.
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu claims Arafat has been giving militants his tacit approval for attacks, including last Friday's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed three Israeli women.
The Palestinians want Israel to stop the construction of a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem, the sector the Palestinians claim as a future capital.
But as the violence spreads, trust and confidence between the two sides worsens and the chance of returning to peace talks becomes ever more remote.
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