Palestinian Authority officials are refusing to transfer to Israeli custody the Arab driver who struck and killed an Israeli woman in her forties on Thursday night near the Jewish community of Havat Gilad along Highway 60.
The driver, a 63-year-old Palestinian Authority man, turned himself in to PA security forces, allegedly saying the woman’s death was an accident and not a terror attack.
A Palestinian Authority official said the suspect will remain in the custody of PA Police and “will be dealt with within the PA’s judicial system,” according to the Times of Israel.
Samaria Regional Council chairperson Yossid Dagan, however, disputed the claim, contending there were no skid marks or other signs that the driver had come to a sudden halt or tried in any other way to avoid hitting his victim.
On Friday morning, the IDF released a statement stating that there following an initial investigation by the IDF and the Shabak, there is reasonable chance that this actually was a traffic accident and not a terror attack.