Palestinian man and his wife killed and their son critically wounded due to an explosion in Hebron

Saturday December 09, 2006 14:51 by Ghassan Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies

A Palestinian man and his wife were killed on Saturday midday, and their son was badly wounded, when an explosive left behind by the Israeli army blew up near the family's house in the village of Sa'ier, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Kamil Al Mtur, 43, and his wife Hikmat arrived to the hospital dead, after sustaining fatal wounds in the head and back, while their son, Sanad, 18,  was admitted to surgery due to his critical wounds, medical sources reported.

Eyewitnesses said that an unknown device, apparently left by the Israeli army, caused the explosion that took the lives of the couple.  Palestinian security spokespeople stated that in the initial investigation of the incident, it appeared to be an unexploded Israeli tank shell that caused the explosion.

The deaths of Mtur and his wife add to the death toll of three Palestinians killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip this week, including two children.  Their deaths make a total of five Palestinians killed by Israeli forces this week alone.  Israeli soldiers also abducted 117 residents, including a woman and five children, in the West Bank, including two journalists from the city of Hebron in two separate invasion on Friday and Saturday.

Unexploded ordinances, like the one that killed the Hebron couple Saturday, are a common danger throughout Palestine, where daily invasions of Israeli forces often result in explosives, ordinances and tank shells that are left behind.  It is often children who are the victims of these unexploded ordinances, as they are naturally curious and drawn to the strange objects left by the army.  At least five children have been killed this year by unexploded ordinances that blew up when they touched or came near them. 

hebron | israeli attacks | news report