Former Palestinian prime minister, driver pulled over for speeding

West Bank police stopped vehicle carrying Ahmed Qurei after it was measured driving at a speed of 145 kilometers per hour.

By YASSER OKBI
Former PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei 370 R (photo credit: Ammar Awad / Reuters)
Former PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei 370 R
(photo credit: Ammar Awad / Reuters)
West Bank police and IDF troops on Saturday pulled over the vehicle carrying former Palestinian Authority prime minister Ahmed Qurei after it was measured at a speed of 145 kilometers per hour, well above the 80 kph limit on that particular highway.
The security forces ordered Qurei's driver to stop as it was driving along a highway near the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, adjacent to the entrance to the Palestinian village of Azaria. When the driver of the black Mercedes vehicle refused, authorities set up a roadblock well ahead of the spot where police initially engaged the driver.
Qurei and the driver were detained for three hours, after which police ordered them to appear before the police traffic division.
Initially Qurei refused police requests to open his car window as he sat inside the vehicle. It was only after the intervention of government coordinator for activities in the territories, Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, that Qurei was allowed to continue onward.
Palestinian sources told the Ma'an news agency that Qurei refused to give police his or his driver's identification papers. The incident will be among the topics discussed during Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations on Sunday.