Army jeep kills two children aged 5 and 6 years old
At around 6.30pm on Wed 28th April an Israeli Army jeep ran over two young children, aged 8 and 10, and killed them. The army is claiming that it was an accident, but eyewitnesses have said it was clearly a deliberate act on the the part of the soldiers.
Several army jeeps had been driving around the area, passing Palestinian communities every 2 – 3 minutes, clearly aiming to intimidate them. The driving was so wreckless that several other drivers had to vere out of their way. The jeep then drove off the road and collided with a tractor and trailer belonging to the Foqua family, who were on their way home from their fields. Two of the daughters, Jannah and Masa, who were riding in the trailer, were killed.
Local people are very upset and angry, and believe that this was done to punish the local community.
The following report was on Maan News:
Ramallah, April 29 2010 – An Israeli military jeep collided with a tractor carrying a Palestinian family, killing two young girls and injuring their father and brother on Thursday, witnesses said. The girls, both killed instantly, were identified as Jannah Foqha, 8, and her sister Masa, 10. Their 11-year-old brother Hussien was injured along with father Imad; both remain in hospital.
The incident occurred south of the Bisan checkpoint, in the Ein El-Bdeia area of the northern Jordan Valley.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed two had been killed when a military vehicle hit a Palestinian tractor, while a National Police representative said the “unfortunate accident” saw two young girls, riding in a cart pulled behind the tractor, were struck.
The spokesman said he was unaware of any allegations that the accident was in fact the result of soldiers targeting the family.
Locals told the regional popular committee that the incident was an “act of willful killing by the occupation forces,” reporting that the tractor was in fact 15 meters away from the the highway where the Israeli military vehicle was driving.
Highway 90 is an Israeli-only road, and local farmers are prohibited from using large swaths of it.
Activists with the Stop the Wall campaign quoted locals as saying the soldiers involved in the accident had earlier intervened in a fight between settlers and farmers.
