An Israeli community in the West Bank. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israeli and Palestinian rescue and security teams participated Wednesday in a joint drill simulating an emergency rescue exercise following a car crash.

The exercise, an initiative of the Israeli Civil Administration, came a week after a severe accident on Highway 60 that claimed the lives of seven people, including a mother and five of her children.

Highway 60 stretches through the West Bank and is shared by Israeli and Palestinian drivers. Israeli and Palestinian rescue teams worked together at the scene of last week’s accident.

During Wednesday’s drill, Israeli and Palestinian teams practiced sawing through overturned vehicles and pulling crash dummies trapped inside the vehicles to safety.

“You have to remember that in Judea and Samaria there are a lot of routes where both Israelis and Palestinians drive, and that you have to [assist] injured parties regardless of their origin,” said Lt. Gen. Samir Khayuf, head of Jenin’s Civil Administration Coordination Headquarters, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

“It’s true that the political situation [between Israel and the Palestinians] carries an important role, but at the end of the day we receive orders from our leadership and carry them out,” said Khaled Cadura, head of the Jenin Communication Unit.

The exercise concluded with a meal, after which the Israeli and Palestinian teams applauded the joint effort and expressed their desire to conduct similar exercises in the future.