2 Palestinians killed in family dispute in Beit Jala

JULY 13, 2015 8:57 P.M. (UPDATED: JULY 14, 2015 11:11 A.M.)
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(MaanImages)
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Two Palestinians were killed on Monday when a family
dispute erupted into violence in the west Bethlehem village of Beit Jala, with a
man killed in fighting and a woman dying after she jumped from a building set
ablaze in the aftermath.
Palestinian police spokesperson Luay Irzeiqat told Ma'an that the fight initially
broke out between two families in the al-Sahl area of Beit Jala.
Mahmoud Muhammad Ali Eriedi, a 38-year-old from Husan village near
Bethlehem, was injured by a sharp object in his chest.
He was taken to a hospital but later pronounced dead.
Irzeiqat said that relatives of the killed man then set fire to cars, homes and
stores belonging to members of the other family in both Beit Jala and nearby
Bethlehem city.
Fire rapidly spread through a shopping mall several stories high, forcing people
to jump from the building's windows in an attempt to escape.
A woman from Beit Suhour, described as being in her 50s, was killed after
jumping from the building.

The police arrested several people suspected of involvement in the dispute and
have opened an investigation, Irzeiqat said.
Family disputes are a regular occurrence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
On Saturday night, 12 Palestinians were shot and injured during an armed clash
between two families in the northern West Bank village of Rujeib, east of
Nablus.