U.S. Resolution Sparks Hebron Clash; 33 Hurt

HEBRON, West Bank — In the fiercest clashes in the West Bank in weeks, hundreds of Palestinians threw stones and firebombs Saturday at Israeli troops, who responded with rubber bullets. Thirty-two Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were hurt.

The rioters said they were angered by a U.S. congressional resolution recognizing disputed Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The violence also came after the apparent failure of Egypt’s latest attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high and periodically flared into violence after Israel announced plans in March to begin building a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. The project has led to stalled peace negotiations.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a U.S. trip in a move that local media attributed to the peacemaking crisis with Palestinians.

But a spokesman said Netanyahu’s trip was canceled because the prime minister wanted to be in Israel to deal with pending sensitive legislation on who would be permitted to perform conversions to Judaism in Israel.

Israel’s Army Radio said, however, that Netanyahu canceled because he had hoped for a meeting with President Clinton but now wanted to avoid talks with Clinton while the peace process falters. But Netanyahu aide Shai Bazak denied the report.

Egyptian envoy Osama Baz met separately last week with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and Netanyahu--with no apparent results.

The U.S. congressional resolution, passed Tuesday, deeply angered Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as a future capital. The sector was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War and is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Palestinian police made no attempt to quell the street battles in Hebron. A Palestinian police commander said his officers were busy monitoring high school seniors taking exams.