The PA has accused an Israeli driver of deliberately ramming his vehicle into a Palestinian one on Saturday night killing two brothers in an incident the Israeli police are considering upon initial investigation to be an accident.
“At this stage, it’s suspected to be a car accident,” the police said about the incident that occurred after the Palestinian vehicle had stopped on the side of Route 60 between the Rehelim and Tapuah junctions in the northern West Bank due to car trouble.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called on the UN to monitor Israeli violence against Palestinians in light of this incident and other Palestinian deaths at the hands of the IDF and Israeli civilians.
“We call on the United Nations teams stationed in Palestine to deploy monitors on the roads and in the areas targeted by settlers,” Shtayyeh said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting held in Ramallah, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Shtayyeh said he took this step “in view of the shedding of Palestinian blood, the extrajudicial executions on the roads and the escalation of terrorism by the occupation soldiers and settlers, the latest of which was the deliberate car-ramming attack against the two brothers Mohammad and Muhanad Mtair.”
The US Office of Palestinian Affairs tweeted, “Our deepest condolences go out to the Mtair family after two brothers, Mohammad and Muhannad, were killed this weekend outside of Nablus as they were repairing a tire on their vehicle. We support a thorough police investigation into this tragedy.”
Mohammad and Muhanad were 37 and 19, respectively.
US calls for 'accountability' after Palestinian teen shot in Jenin
Last week, the US State Department called for “accountability” after the Palestinian Jana Zakarneh, 16, was fatally shot while standing on a Jenin rooftop during armed clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli forces.
The IDF said an initial review of the incident found a “high probability” that Zakarneh was killed by the accidental fire of Israeli security forces directed at the gunmen.