Two Palestinian men in their 30s were killed on Saturday when they collided with an Israeli vehicle on West Bank Route 60, one of a series of serious road accidents that day.
The crash happened Saturday night between Rechalim Junction and Tapuach Junction along Route 60, one of the deadliest roads in the country. The main road runs from Be’er Sheva in the south to Nazareth in the north, with most of the road passing through the West Bank. Some road sections haven’t been updated in years.
According to Palestinian media reports, the victims were brothers Mohammad and Mohammad al-Muter from the Qalandiya refugee camp near Jerusalem. A Palestinian Authority spokesman was quoted by Palestinian news agency Wafa as saying the pair had to stop to fix a punctured tire on their return from the West Bank city of Nablus.
Israeli police said that after preliminary investigations, the collision occurred when two men were repairing their cars on the side of the road when the Israeli vehicle hit them.
Paramedics said they found one of the Palestinian men unconscious and unresponsive at the scene and were forced to pronounce him dead. The second man was taken to Bellinson Hospital in Petah Tikva in a critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries.
The Israeli driver, a man in his 50s, suffered minor injuries and was also taken to Belizen Hospital, also known as Rabin Medical Center, for treatment, according to statements from police and first responders.
Unexpected: “A Palestinian youth identified as Mohammad Yousef Mteir was killed and his brother Muhannad was seriously injured after being run over by Israeli settler vehicles near the Zaatara Israeli military checkpoint in the northern West Bank”. pic.twitter.com/kebfH66ypO
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 17, 2022
A female motorcyclist was killed and three others were injured when a bicycle collided with a car in the northern city of Haifa early Saturday, police and medics said.
Paramedics found the motorbike rider, a 44-year-old Kiryat Haim resident, unconscious and seriously injured, according to a statement from the Magen David Adom Ambulance Service.
The woman was evacuated to Rambam Medical Center in critical condition and pronounced dead by doctors shortly after her arrival, police said.
Three occupants of the vehicle, a 60-year-old mother and her children, aged 20 and 16, also suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment, the statement said.
The police launched an investigation into the accident.
In a separate incident, a 5-year-old boy was seriously injured when he was hit by a motorcycle in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givat Shmuel, police said.
The boy was taken to Beilinson Hospital for treatment and police said they were investigating the matter.
Since the beginning of the year, 325 people have been killed in 298 crashes, according to the latest figures from the National Road Safety Agency.
