Israel says 148 Palestinians killed by army in West Bank in 2004

JERUSALEM, Dec 8 (AFP) - Israeli troops have killed 148 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the year, the army said Wednesday.
Out of the total, "119 terrorists have been killed in 2004", a senior officer based on the West Bank told Israeli military radio, adding that "29 were innocent victims killed by mistake."
The Israeli army is currently hunting 560 Palestinian activists in the West Bank suspected of involvement in anti-Israeli attacks, while some 3,000 others are behind bars, the unnamed officer said.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the figures to AFP but said that many non-combatants killed were in fact militants "involved in the preparation of attacks but not actually armed".
Army chief of staff General Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday that 70 percent of all victims of the intifada were civilians and warned the army against losing its "moral values" after a series of blunders reported in the media.
Around 4,600 people have been killed since the September 2000 start of the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, including more than 3,500 Palestinians and nearly 1,000 Israelis.

12/08/2004 20:10 GMT - AFP