Two Palestinians brothers in their twenties were killed after a Jewish settler driving at a high speed deliberately ran them over on Saturday night on a road near the military checkpoint of Za’tara in southern Nablus.
Mohamed and Muhanad Metair from Qalandia refugee camp in Occupied Jerusalem were killed in a car-ramming attack by a Jewish settler who fled the scene after committing his crime Zakariya Fayyala director of the Jerusalem governor’s office in Qalandia camp said in press remarks.
Fayyala said the two brothers were on the side of a road near the checkpoint fixing a puncture in one of the tires of their vehicle when the settler drove his vehicle directly into them killing Mohamed and seriously injuring Muhanad adding that other members of their family who were with them survived the attack.
According to a family source Mohamed’s body was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Nablus while Muhanad who was critically injured was rushed to a hospital in 1948 occupied Palestine (Israel) before he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A third brother who was with him when the incident happened affirmed that the settler intentionally swerved his car into them and their vehicle which they stopped on the side of a wide road and activated its warning lights.
In a related context a general strike was declared in Qalandia following the death of the two brothers with residents calling to avenge their death.
For its part the Hamas Movement has strongly denounced the killing of the Metair brothers calling the car-ramming incident as “deliberate.”
In a statement Hamas mourned their death and offered its deep condolences to their families and friends.
“The resistance will continue to be our people’s option to curb the settlers and repel their attacks crimes and provocations” Hamas said.
“The martyrs’ blood will remain a curse haunting the enemy its soldiers and settlers in every street and alley of our occupied land” it added.
