Israeli troops killed a 65-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy and wounded five others near Ramallah Wednesday afternoon, Palestinian sources said.
They added that some youths clashed with troops operating in the village of Qarawat Bani Zeid, north of Ramallah.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) said Wednesday Yasser Arafat remained in charge, despite the heavy U.S. and Israeli pressure to ignore the veteran Palestinian leader.
"Arafat is at the top of the (Palestinian) Authority. He's the man to whom we refer, regardless of the American or Israeli view of him," Abbas said in an interview with the Egyptian al Mussawar weekly magazine.
"For us, Abu Ammar (Yasser Arafat) is the president elected by the Palestinian people and he is the chairman of the whole Palestinian Authority. We do not do anything without his approval," Abbas stated. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
