Gaza universities closed in effort to halt anti-U.S. protests

Associated Press WriterGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- The Palestinian Authority closed universities and schools in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a day after two Palestinians were killed and 76 hurt during protests against the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan. It was the deadliest internal fighting in years.

Palestinian security forces, who on Monday chased away reporters trying to cover the protests, on Tuesday barred foreign journalists from the Gaza Strip.

Monday's clashes deepened the rift between the Palestinian Authority and Islamic militants at a time when Yasser Arafat is trying to persuade his rivals to honor a shaky truce with Israel.

The events began when more than 1,000 students, many of them supporters of the militant Hamas group, marched in support of Afghanistan and suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

After the march, dozens of demonstrators broke away and fought street battles with police in and around Gaza City's Islamic University. Protesters threw stones, while police fired tear gas and beat protesters with clubs. There were also exchanges of gunfire.

Preliminary reports by medical workers had indicated 214 people were injured in the clash and several other confrontations that lasted well into the night. However, a Palestinian Authority official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday gave a lower number of injured.

He said 15 civilians and a policeman were wounded by gunfire. One of the civilians was on life support Tuesday, and the policeman was in critical condition. Sixty policemen were hurt by stones.

Eighty civilians were overcome by tear gas, but were not hospitalized, the official said.

Gaza City was quiet on Tuesday morning, with roads around some security bases closed to civilian traffic. Gaza City's two universities, the Islamic University and Al Azhar University, were closed until the end of the week. Schools were shut for a day.

The Palestinian Authority convened heads of the main activist groups on Monday night in an attempt to halt further street battles. In a joint statement released after the meeting, the factions expressed "deep pain over the grave incident."

The statement condemned the use of live ammunition during Monday's clashes. Police said masked men fired at them from within the campus. Human rights groups, including London-based Amnesty International, said security forces used excessive force.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Abu Shanab denied shots were fired by the protesters and said only the police had weapons at the time.

The Palestinian Authority said a commission of inquiry would be formed. It said Monday's events harmed the Palestinians' image abroad and threatened national unity.

The Palestinian Authority has tried to distance itself from bin Laden, and has also tried to persuade Hamas to honor a Sept. 26 truce with Israel.

However, Hamas has not observed the truce and is opposed to the U.S. bombing campaign.

In the West Bank town of Nablus, a rally by Hamas and Islamic Jihad members was allowed to go ahead after organizers promised Palestinian authorities that the event would be peaceful, said Ala Himdan, head of the Islamic movement at the town's Al Najah University.

About 1,500 students marched close to the university grounds, holding banners which read: "Stop the war in Afghanistan."

On Monday, security forces chased journalists away from the protest in Gaza and told them not to report on the demonstration, part of an ongoing effort to prevent reporting about rallies with expressions of support for bin Laden.

On Tuesday, several foreign reporters were held up at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel. The journalists were told they were being kept away for their own safety.

Other Palestinian officials said the order to keep foreign journalists out of Gaza came directly from Arafat's office.