Heavy selling hits stocks in Tel Aviv

Panic hit the Tel Aviv stock market Tuesday as shares plunged for the third day in succession, falling by an average of 15 percent. Exchange officials said the atmosphere was reminiscent of the 1929 Wall Street crash. Thousands of small investors, looking for a way to safeguard their savings in Israel's inflationary economy, had put money into stocks. Last year, Israel's inflation rate was 131 percent. But experts warned that share values no longer reflected the real stock values.

Meanwhile the first Israeli ground attack since Dec. 19 occurred when Israeli forces struck deep into Lebanese territory before dawn Tuesday against Palestinian guerrilla targets, killing one person, the Israeli military comma nd said.