Bizarre Street Episode Claims a Young Palestinian Life
Israeli troops are a common sight on Palestinian streets, and though George Saadeh felt it prudent to slow down, he sensed no imminent danger on Tuesday as he drove his family past two army jeeps parked on the side of a quiet road near his home.

He had no way of knowing his timing was so bad it seemed to defy the laws of probability. Moments earlier, Israeli troops were involved in a shootout that killed three Palestinian men traveling in a beige Peugeot 305 sedan, including two members the militant group Hamas, Palestinians said.

The Hamas men, Nader Jarawish, 35, and Ala Ayad, 24, were wanted by Israel. In many similar army operations, soldiers have acted after receiving intelligence about the car a suspect is using, although Capt. Jacob Dallal, an army spokesman, said he did not know if this had been the case in Tuesday's shooting.

Mr. Saadeh, his wife and two daughters were also in a beige Peugeot 305 sedan, and as they headed to a supermarket on a blustery, rain-soaked night, the soldiers apparently thought the car presented a threat. The troops cut loose with automatic weapons fire, putting at least 30 bullets into the car, killing 12-year-old Christine Saadeh and wounding the three other family members.

"We were stunned. We couldn't believe they were shooting at us," said Mr. Saadeh, a 41-year-old school principal, who was recovering today at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem with gunshot wounds to the abdomen and back. "I screamed that we were civilians. I looked behind me, and I saw Christine had fallen to the floor."

Mrs. Saadeh's wife Najwa suffered minor scratches, and their 15-year-old daughter Marian was hit in the knee.

Captain Dallal said the first Palestinian car fired on the soldiers, prompting the troops to shoot back. Mr. Saadeh's family then drove into a gun battle and they were hit unintentionally, he added. "We do everything to avoid having a firefight in the center of a city, but we came under attack," Captain Dallal said.

However, Palestinians often accuse the army of firing recklessly, and the Saadehs and Palestinian residents on Gamal Abdel Nasser Street, where the two cars came to a stop only 10 yards apart, offered accounts that were sharply different from the army's version.

Mr. and Mrs. Saadeh, in separate interviews, said they heard no shooting as they approached the army vehicles, and no other cars were immediately visible. The shooting erupted as the Saadehs' car passed in front of the troops, and the assault carried on as the family began turning a corner.

When the soldiers came to the Saadehs' car, they immediately realized their mistake, the couple said.

"The soldiers were shocked when they saw the girls," said Mrs. Saadeh, 34. "They told us, `We are very sorry. We didn't mean to shoot you.' They came with us to the hospital. But what does sorry mean to me, I lost my daughter?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/27/international/middleeast/27MIDE.html