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CNN Live Saturday

Two Palestinian Children Killed by Unexploded Munition

Aired July 20, 2002 - 17:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's been a tragic week in Ramallah for two families of two young boys killed in an explosion. The boys picked up what they thought was a toy, but unfortunately they couldn't have been more wrong. CNN's John Vause has the story from Ramallah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sitting outside their homes, two fathers mourn their loss at the same spot where their sons were killed while playing when a device they found exploded.

Posters with the boys' photos, Ahmed Abu Radahah (ph), seven years old, and Fahdi Al Hajhal (ph), 18, have been strung across their narrow street, declaring both martyrs, killed by boyhood curiosity.

Of course it's dangerous here, Ahmed's father told me. All the kids are in the streets. They find things and carry them. They play with them. They don't understand what they're doing.

The blast happened on Wednesday night. Seven others were injured, three were admitted to hospital. One was seriously hurt. By all accounts the older boy, Fahdi, found the device earlier that day, proudly showing it off to friends in the Amadhi (ph) refugee camp.

He thought he could sell it. Ten-year-old Muhammad (ph) was there when it exploded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He said this was brass. Somebody told him it was nothing. Fahdi said look ate, hold it. The other person said get away, I don't want it. It's nothing. So Fahdi hit it on the ground and it blew up.

VAUSE: Like many in this neighborhood, Fahdi's (ph) father blames the Israelis. He believes the boys were playing with a stray tank shell or some kind of missile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Of course it was Israeli, he told me. People saw it and said it was Israeli. The youth in the refugee camp saw it, said it was a foreign language, Hebrew or English written on it.

VAUSE: The younger boy's father, though, isn't so sure. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I can't say if it's Israeli or Arab. Only God knows. I don't blame anyone. God took him.

VAUSE: The doctors who treated the injured say there's no way to tell if the injuries came from Israeli shell or Palestinian bomb, because the pieces of shrapnel they removed were too small.

(on camera): Whatever it was, the IDF is certain it wasn't one of theirs, because Israeli soldiers conduct routine searches looking for any unexploded munitions, anything, they say, which could be used by Palestinian militants.

(voice-over): In the last year-and-a-half, there have been 14 other deadly blasts just like this one on the West Bank. The Red Crescent is now warning parents and children of the dangers of unexploded munitions, both Israeli and Palestinian.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Children are very prone to sort of go and explore and touch suspicious objects that have tended to explode and so on.

VAUSE: Chances are, no one will ever know for sure who's really to blame for this explosion. The only certainty, two innocent lives lost. The ultimate price, the living amid the conflict. John Vause, CNN, Ramallah.

For more on the crisis in the Middle East, make sure to check out our Web site. There you'll find a timeline of events and an in-depth analysis of the key issues in the conflict. All that at cnn.com. AOL key word is CNN.

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