A Palestinian and Israeli driver were killed when their trucks collided along Route 505 between the settlements of Kfar Tapuah and Migdalim in the northern West Bank on Sunday, rescue workers and medics said.
Responders from the Fire and Rescue Services found a “complex and difficult” scene upon arrival, leading to a lengthy effort to try and rescue the two drivers who were trapped in the wreckages of the vehicles, according to a statement.
However, after rescue workers managed to extricate them, paramedics from the Magen David Adom ambulance were forced to declare the two men dead at the scene.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. Fire and Rescue Services said that the two trucks ended up a great distance from each other on the side of the road, and both vehicles sustained heavy damage.
Israel was ranked last in a recent European road safety report comparing regional countries based on their ability to reduce annual road deaths over the past decade.
According to the report, European countries on average were successfully able to reduce traffic deaths by 31 percent between 2011 and 2021, while Israel saw only a 4.7% drop over that period.
Rescue workers work to free a driver from the wreckage of a truck following a collision along Route 505 in the northern West Bank, October 16, 2022. (Fire and Rescue Services)
According to the most recent data released by Israel’s National Road Safety Authority on September 29, there were 255 people killed on Israel’s roads since the start of 2022.
Roads in the Wet Bank are particularly dangerous with dozens of fatal accidents in recent years, most caused by poor infrastructure and rash driving.
