Ramallah: A speeding Israeli bus loaded with colonists ran over a group of Palestinians, killing one and hurting two others near the Israeli checkpoint of Al Jalamah between Nablus and Jenin.

The Israeli bus crossed the checkpoint without stopping just as a group of Palestinian workers inside Israel stepped out having gone through their inspection process.

The speeding bus ran over Noor Hassan Salem, 22, his cousin Alaa Kayed Salem and a third villager from a village near Nablus.

Sources in Nablus told Gulf News that Noor suffered serious injuries in the incident and also claimed that the bus driver intentionally sped up before hitting the three men. The sources stressed that as the site was not a place to speed up and because the Palestinian workers were on the pavement and had not reached the street when the bus hit them, it is clear that the accident was intentional. In addition, it indicates that the bus driver clearly meant to hit the Palestinians in front of the Israeli soldiers on the checkpoint.

The Israeli military forces closed the checkpoint following the accident and declared the entire area as a military sealed area to prevent Palestinian demonstrations at the site.

Israeli Police in the West Bank confirmed the accident but stressed that they did not see evidence that the accident was intentional. The police said they had launched an investigation into the accident.

Noor Hassan Salem’s injuries were such that Israeli medical teams took him in an extremely serious condition to Hillel Yafeh Hospital inside Israel. Nonetheless, Noor succumbed to his wounds and was declared dead there.

The Israeli military forces allowed Palestinian ambulances to access the scene to transfer the other two Palestinians to a Nablus private hospital for treatment for injuries described as light to moderate.

Noor’s dead body arrived via the Palestinian-Israeli Security Coordination Liaison Office to Rafidyah Public Hospital in Nablus to be laid to rest later in the day.

Nablus sources said that the incident was revenge and maintained that the accident was intentional.

The sources stressed that it was strange that all Palestinians who carried out actions against Israelis had been arrested, indicted and even punished but so far not even a single Israeli attacker had been arrested and questioned.