4 Palestinians killed in car accident near Hebron

Four Palestinians were killed and two others seriously injured in a car accident in the West Bank on Saturday night.

The incident involved a collision between a truck and a car on Route 60 near Hebron, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

The injured individuals were treated at the scene by Red Crescent and MDA paramedics and were taken to a Palestinian hospital.

An investigation has been opened.

A report published last month by the Knesset’s Research and Information Center and cited by Ynet found that data about car accidents involving Palestinian drivers was not being shared by police with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

This, in turn, affects the classification of dangerous roads that require stronger enforcement mechanisms and prevents the effective allocation of funding for fixing safety hazards where needed.

The report showed that deadly car accidents were more likely to take place in the West Bank and involve Palestinian drivers. Among car accidents involving only Israeli drivers, five percent were deadly, compared with 14% when the drivers were Palestinian. The national average is 3%.

A state comptroller report published in May indicated that one possible reason for the concerning trend is the lack of official supervision of Palestinian vehicles. In the West Bank, car inspection tests are conducted privately, without any official body overlooking the process.

This means that the only supervision of Palestinian vehicles’ safety systems is done at checkpoints.

According to the Or Yarok road safety lobby group, 180 people have been killed on Israel’s roads since the beginning of the year. That compares with 178 during the same period in 2021.

Last year, 361 people died on Israel’s roads, according to the National Road Safety Authority.