Pupils back to school amid violence By SAUD ABU RAMADAN GAZA, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- More than one million Palestinian schoolboys and girls started back to schools Saturday while violence and bloodshed between Israel and the Palestinians flares all over Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinian ministry of education said in a statement that Palestinian children are back to start a new school year in an atmosphere of violence, closures, tanks incursions, shelling and parents fears for their children's lives. The education department director-general, Naeem Abu El Homos, told Palestinian radio that 140 schoolboys had been killed and more than 2,000 injured over summer vacation. "Our pupils' lives are in danger, especially with the continuation of the Israeli shelling of Palestinian areas by tanks and by F-16s and helicopters' missiles," Abu El Homos said. He said that during the summer vacation, about 95 schools in Gaza and the West Bank were damaged either partially or severely when they were shelled by tanks missiles and calibers. Abu El Homos spoke about the psychological impact on schoolboys who are back in schools and either homeless after Israeli soldiers destroyed their homes; orphans after Israeli troops killed their fathers or scared of being hurt. He said Israeli troops had occupied three schools and turned them into military bases in the West Bank town of Hebron. "Last year Israel closed down six schools and education was stopped in 66 schools as a result of the military siege and curfews imposed on several villages in the West Bank," said Abu El Homos. In northern Gaza, as the pupils were on their way to Ibad El Rahman elementary school to start their first day school, they saw a car exploding just one block far from their school, its pieces thrown in the air. One man was killed and two were injured. The Palestinian security intelligence in Gaza said in a statement that Israel killed Col. Tayseer Khatab Saturday morning and wounded two people near El Rahman School by blowing up a bomb that was planted into his car. The statement said that the bomb was blown up from a distance by a remote control killing Khatab, the bureau chief of General Amin El Hindi's office, head of the Palestinian intelligence security services. Since the beginning of the Intifada 11 months ago, Israel has assassinated more than 60 Palestinian activists and militants in Gaza and the West Bank. Israeli security officials claimed that they were masterminding attacks against Israel. Meanwhile, Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Gaza and the West Bank urging the U.N. World Conference against Racism held in South Africa to condemn the Israeli policy against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Demonstrators took the streets in the West Bank town of Ramallah waving flags and holding pictures of Palestinian children were killed by Israel during eleven month of Israeli Palestinian fighting. They shouted slogans said that Israel is a Zionist entity and said that Zionism is 100 percent equal to racism. As soon as the demonstration reached the center of the town of Al Beereh near Ramallah, the demonstrators clashed with the Israeli troops. Demonstrators threw stones and troops fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets. Hospital officials said that at least nine Palestinians were shot and injured, including four children, adding that more than 32 demonstrators had breathing problems after inhaling tear gas. -- Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved. --