Israel Closes Palestine Paper; Arab, 16, Killed

JERUSALEM — Israel closed a Palestinian weekly today, charging that it was funded by terrorist groups, and a Palestinian teen-ager was electrocuted while climbing on a utility pole with an outlawed Palestinian flag.

The Interior Ministry shut down the Jerusalem-based Al Awdah, a weekly published in English and Arabic, determining that it was “a tool for terror organizations,” according to ministry spokeswoman Tova Elinson.

The closure order was delivered today to magazine Editor Ibrahim Kareen, who also heads the Palestine Press Service.

The press service was a key source of information on the occupied territories before it was banned for six months beginning March 30. It has maintained contacts with foreign journalists.

Denies Terrorist Funding

Israeli officials have padlocked several Arab news organizations since unrest erupted in the occupied territories five months ago. They contend that the organizations have helped fuel Arab riots.

Kareen denied that Al Awdah received funding from terror groups. He said money to run the magazine comes from subscribers.

“This was a political decision,” Kareen said. “Maltreatment of journalists has become government policy.”

Kareen said Al Awdah, which was founded six years ago and has a combined circulation of about 10,000, was the first Palestinian publication to interview Israelis face to face in an effort to promote dialogue.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Nidal Abdulhak, 16, of the village of Beit Wazan died Sunday night in Nablus’ Al Ittihad Hospital, the army said.

Hospital officials quoted family members as saying he was electrocuted when he was ordered to remove a Palestinian flag from a utility pole. The army said he was apparently killed while hanging a flag.