Sa'il Daraghmeh, resident of Tubas, Jenin District.
On Saturday, 8 August 2002, I was at my home, in the eastern neighborhood of Tubas. At around 17:00, my friend, Muhammad 'Ali Abu Mihsen, arrived at my house in his private car, a silver, Daewoo. He asked me to join him for a ride in town, and I agreed. We had driven about 300 meters towards the town center, when I noticed a silver Mitsubishi behind us. The car seemed to have come from the direction of the village of Taisir, which is about three kilometers away from Tubas. The car was going very fast. The driver was constantly honking the horn and trying to overtake us, but a truck in the opposite direction was in his way. The driver slowed down and stayed behind us.
Then I saw a little girl, about six to eight years old, standing on the sidewalk on the right hand side. I yelled out to her to get away. I was afraid for her life. I had a feeling the driver in the Mitsubishi was going to crash. A few minutes later, I heard a loud explosion. Our car crashed into
On Saturday, 8 August 2002, I was at my home, in the eastern neighborhood of Tubas. At around 17:00, my friend, Muhammad 'Ali Abu Mihsen, arrived at my house in his private car, a silver, Daewoo. He asked me to join him for a ride in town, and I agreed. We had driven about 300 meters towards the town center, when I noticed a silver Mitsubishi behind us. The car seemed to have come from the direction of the village of Taisir, which is about three kilometers away from Tubas. The car was going very fast. The driver was constantly honking the horn and trying to overtake us, but a truck in the opposite direction was in his way. The driver slowed down and stayed behind us.
Then I saw a little girl, about six to eight years old, standing on the sidewalk on the right hand side. I yelled out to her to get away. I was afraid for her life. I had a feeling the driver in the Mitsubishi was going to crash. A few minutes later, I heard a loud explosion. Our car crashed into a white Pollo parked on the side of the road. I saw my friend, Muhammad Abu Mihsen, get out of the car, after it had stopped completely. Then I heard another three or four consecutive explosions and couldn't understand what was happening. I was frightened and I couldn't get out of the car. I couldn't open the car door and couldn't even see the handle. I later managed to get out of the car and saw the Mitsubishi burning. Flames and white, thick smoke were coming out of it.
I saw a young guy, who looked between thirteen and sixteen. I thought his name was Osama. He walked around the car and seemed confused. Then, he walked to the east. Later I found out that the boy was Osama Ibrahim Daraghmeh. Many people tried to approach the place and others tried to get away. I tried to walk away and fell three times before managing to get to a distance of about 100 meters west of the car. I saw the Mitsubushi spinning around its axis. Later, some people from the neighborhood took me to a Red Crescent clinic, which is located about two kilometers from where the burning car was. There were no doctors in the clinic, so I was transferred to the a-Shifah clinic, where I received medical care.
In the clinic there was a little girl sleeping on a bed. I told Dr. 'Abd a-Nasser Daraghmeh that I saw her about a minute before the incident. The doctor told me she was dead. I also saw a man with his hand and his head cut off. The man, I was told, was Rafat Daraghmeh. I knew Rafat, but his face had been so badly disfigured that I couldn't recognize him. People from the neighborhood told me two Israeli helicopters fired missiles toward the car Rafat Daraghmeh was driving in, a Mitsubishi which had been stolen in Israel. I also found out that Rafat got the car only two days earlier. I was told that five civilians were killed in the Israeli operation. One of them was Rafat, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the other four were innocent civilians (two children on the sidewalk and two people who were in the car). I also found out there dozens of people were wounded. I saw only three of them, in the clinic, Tanha Daraghmeh, Nahila Salameh and Ibrahim Salameh. I was later, transferred to a hospital in Jenin.
a white Pollo parked on the side of the road. I saw my friend, Muhammad Abu Mihsen, get out of the car, after it had stopped completely. Then I heard another three or four consecutive explosions and couldn't understand what was happening. I was frightened and I couldn't get out of the car. I couldn't open the car door and couldn't even see the handle. I later managed to get out of the car and saw the Mitsubishi burning. Flames and white, thick smoke were coming out of it.
I saw a young guy, who looked between thirteen and sixteen. I thought his name was Osama. He walked around the car and seemed confused. Then, he walked to the east. Later I found out that the boy was Osama Ibrahim Daraghmeh. Many people tried to approach the place and others tried to get away. I tried to walk away and fell three times before managing to get to a distance of about 100 meters west of the car. I saw the Mitsubushi spinning around its axis. Later, some people from the neighborhood took me to a Red Crescent clinic, which is located about two kilometers from where the burning car was. There were no doctors in the clinic, so I was transferred to the a-Shifah clinic, where I received medical care.
In the clinic there was a little girl sleeping on a bed. I told Dr. 'Abd a-Nasser Daraghmeh that I saw her about a minute before the incident. The doctor told me she was dead. I also saw a man with his hand and his head cut off. The man, I was told, was Rafat Daraghmeh. I knew Rafat, but his face had been so badly disfigured that I couldn't recognize him. People from the neighborhood told me two Israeli helicopters fired missiles toward the car Rafat Daraghmeh was driving in, a Mitsubishi which had been stolen in Israel. I also found out that Rafat got the car only two days earlier. I was told that five civilians were killed in the Israeli operation. One of them was Rafat, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the other four were innocent civilians (two children on the sidewalk and two people who were in the car). I also found out there dozens of people were wounded. I saw only three of them, in the clinic, Tanha Daraghmeh, Nahila Salameh and Ibrahim Salameh. I was later, transferred to a hospital in Jenin.
Sai'l Mustafa Sa'il Daraghmeh, age 20, is single, a worker, and a resident of Tubas. The testimony was taken by 'Ali Daraghmeh, at the witness' home, on 2 September, 2002.