Flying bullets and speeding cars: analysis of child injury deaths in the Palestinian Territory

Despite the fact that children account for over half the Palestinian population, little attention has been paid to the problem of child injuries. We examined the types of injury mortality in children aged 0–19 years in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territory) and compared these with similar data for children in Israel and England and Wales. We used data from death certificates covering 2001–2003. Death rates per 100 000 children per year were estimated. The leading cause of injury mortality in Palestinian children was accidents caused by firearms missiles (9.6). In comparison, transport accidents were the leading cause of death in children in both Israel (5.0) and England and Wales (3.5).