An Arab taxi driver was killed Wednesday after he ran down two Israeli soldiers and was fired on by other soldiers near the Askar refugee camp outside Nablus. The injured soldiers were taken by helicopter to a hospital in Haifa.
According to eyewitnesses, the taxi deliberately swerved off the road to hit the soldiers who were on foot patrol. Other soldiers on patrol opened fire on the fleeing vehicle which crashed into the wall of a nearby school. The witnesses said the driver leaped from the taxi and hurled rocks at the approaching soldiers when he suddenly collapsed.
He was pronounced dead at a hospital but it was not certain whether he was hit by bullets or died of injuries sustained when the taxi struck the wall. An initial examination showed no bullet wounds in the driver’s body. A post-mortem is expected to determine the cause of death. The taxi was riddled with bullets.
The incident was the latest in a week of violence in the West Bank. Palestinian youths continued to stone Israeli vehicles and burn tires in roadways throughout the territory Wednesday.
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