Israel Kills 2 Guerrillas in North; West Bank Girl Dies of Injuries

KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel â€”  Two guerrillas who infiltrated Israel’s northern border were killed in a clash with an army unit Wednesday, and Palestinian sources said a 15-year-old Arab girl died of a gunshot wound suffered when Israeli soldiers raided a West Bank village.

The border incident occurred near the site of another border clash on Tuesday in which two Israeli soldiers and three guerrillas were killed.

Security sources said the guerrillas infiltrated Wednesday from Al Majidiyah in Lebanon, going about one mile into Israel near Kibbutz Dan.

An Israeli truck driver was reported slightly wounded when the guerrillas attacked his vehicle. It was not immediately clear whether the truck was hit with gunfire or a grenade.

A military force pursued the two guerrillas and finally shot and killed them, the sources said. They said no other guerrillas were seen with the two, but soldiers continued to search the area.

The dead girl, identified as Areej Ismail Addik, was shot in the head during a nighttime raid by Israeli troops on the West Bank village of Kfar Addik, Palestinians sources said. The girl was pronounced dead at Al Ittihad Hospital in Nablus, a hospital official said.

An army spokesman had no immediate information on the incident.

The death raised to 166 the number of Palestinians killed since the anti-Israel uprising began Dec. 9. An Israeli soldier and a Jewish teen-age girl also have died in the unrest.

The slaying of the girl was the first serious incident reported in the occupied areas since Saturday, when the army lifted widespread curfews and other security measures, including the sealing off of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The restrictions were imposed to prevent violence during Israel’s Independence Day celebrations last week.

Security sources said the guerrillas killed Wednesday belonged to the Palestine Liberation Front, headed by Mahmoud Abu Abbas, a pro-Iraqi Palestine Liberation Organization splinter group.

The PLF was responsible for the 1985 hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, during which an American citizen was killed.

Meanwhile, police freed 14 East Jerusalem Arab shopkeepers arrested on Tuesday for disobeying police orders to open for business during normal hours. The traders were released on bail pending their trials.