Hebron mourns blast victims
Palestine, Local, 10/22/1999

Palestinian observers expected Friday that President Yasser Arafat might dissolve the city council of Hebron in response to the tragic blast in an unlicensed factory that manufactured cigarette lighters. Alternatively, Palestinian sources said, an official commission of inquiry will be set to examine the circumstances that led to the tragic incident and to put those responsible on trial.

The city on Friday started a two-day mourning for the 16 victims who died in the incident. Palestinian police, meanwhile, continued their investigation into the blast trying to find out what exactly caused the deadly fire in the factory, located in a basement of a three-floor populated building.

Relatives of the 14 Palestinian girls who were killed in the explosion said the girls were employed under the worst conditions one could ever think of. At least 20 others were wounded.

All 14 victims were buried Thursday night in one funeral with the participation of thousands of citizens. The tragic blast shocked the whole area of Hebron and voices came out loud demanding that owners of the firm, currently out of the country, be put on trial.

The Palestinian police escorted the funeral procession and fired 21 shots of honor in memory of the victims. Tareq Zeid, Chief of Hebron police, said the fire was big and that the fire brigades and teams spent four hours until they succeeded in extinguishing it. He added that his Palestinian firefighters requested assistance from the Israelis who sent three fire brigade vehicles. He added that the Palestinian police were exerting all efforts to find out the reasons behind this fire.

One of the survivors, Yusra Zeidan, said a child, 12 years old, who worked at the firm dropped by accident one of the boxes full of refilled lighters, which caused an explosion in several lighters and set out the fire, besides the floor where they worked was closed with no outlets, as such trapping all female workers inside. The firm, established in 1997, is unlicensed as a factory at all and is registered in city hall documents as a cooler storehouse to keep vegetables and fruits. At a later time, apparently the owners decided to transform it into a firm to fill containers and bottles with detergents, and only recently they transformed it into a lighter firm.

Hebron mayor Mustafa Natshe denied allegations by city citizens who said they had submitted a complaint to the municipality to close down the firm or transfer it to the industrial zone. "It is very regretful that such accusations are directed to the municipality. In 1987, we issued a license for the factory owner to build a vegetable refrigerator. Nobody knows about the current work of the owner. Nobody from the building filed any complaint to us. The owner has started operation in the factory in filling lighter with gas only two months ago and we found out now that he used to buy the lighters from China and fill them here," said Natshe.

Sources at the PNA Ministry of Trade and Industry confirmed that the firm was unlicensed and had no file in the ministry. Labor Minister Rafiq Natsheh blamed the factory owner, who operated the firm without any license and without having any safety procedures. The Palestinian Trade Union held an emergency meeting and demanded that those responsible be brought to justice.

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