Israeli soldiers killed two young Palestinian demonstrators, transfer of West Bank towns to local control was halted and a Palestinian security chief said militants will not be disarmed -- signs that a three-month truce might be coming unraveled.
Palestinian security officials said youths were throwing rocks after nightfall Wednesday at troops guarding the separation barrier Israel is building near the village of Beit Lakia, and the soldiers opened fire, killing two 17-year-old cousins.
Israeli military officials said about 300 Palestinians threw rocks and iron bars at soldiers, who fired warning shots in the air before shooting at the Palestinians. Demonstrations by Palestinians and Israeli sympathizers at barrier construction sites are a daily occurrence. Palestinians call the barrier an "apartheid wall" and complain that it cuts into the West Bank. Israel says it's needed to stop suicide bombers and other infiltrators.
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement calling the killing a violation of the ceasefire. The truce has considerably reduced violence, but incidents have been increasing steadily in recent weeks.
The truce trouble came as Palestinians in key locations like Hebron in the West Bank and Rafah in Gaza were to go to the polls Thursday to elect local leaders, balloting that could give indications of trends in advance of parliamentary elections, set for July 17.
Under terms of the ceasefire, declared Feb. 8 at a gala summit in an Egyptian resort, both sides were to halt violence, Israel would transfer five West Bank towns to Palestinian security control and free 900 prisoners, and Palestinian security would disarm fugitive militants in the towns reverting to its control.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
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A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
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