Palestinian Arabs apparently embarrassed by the low number of Israelis killed and wounded in their rocket barrages on southern Israel insisted on Friday that Israel is covering up terror casualties as victims of traffic accidents.

In an article appearing on the Arabic-language website of Palestine Today, the validity of an Israel Radio report on Thursday that three people had been killed in traffic accidents in the northwestern Negev region was wryly called into question.

The article noted that on the same day, Gaza-based Palestinian terrorists "raped the towns of the western Negev with 35 rockets and mortar shells, begging the question: Is it true that the dead were due to accidents or because of resistance [sic] rockets?"

In related news, Islamic Jihad terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that they have developed a homegrown missile with a range up to 14 miles. If true, the new locally-produced rocket would allow the Gaza terrorists to continue threatening the lives of nearly half-a-million Israelis without relying on imported Katyusha missiles to do so.