The Israeli military on Sunday admitted its soldiers had violated operational procedures when they tied a wounded Palestinian man to a military vehicle during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
It said the Palestinian was wounded during a counterterrorism operation launched in the area of Wadi Burqin to apprehend wanted suspects. During an exchange of fire between troops and militants, one of the suspects was wounded and apprehended, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Viral Video
Footage of the incident, which occurred on Saturday, has gone viral and shows a Jenin resident strapped horizontally to the bonnet of a military jeep as it passes through a narrow alley. The Palestinian was identified as Mujahid Fayyad from the Jabriyat neighbourhood, located between the town of Burqin and Jenin.
“In violation of orders and standard operating procedures, the suspect was taken by the forces while tied on top of a vehicle,” the statement said. “The conduct of the forces in the video of the incident does not conform to the values of the IDF (military),” it added.
“The incident will be investigated and dealt with accordingly,” the military said, adding that the wounded man was transferred to the Palestinian Red Crescent for treatment. Fayyad is currently being treated at Jenin’s Ibn Sina hospital. Jenin has long been a stronghold for Palestinian militant groups, and the Israeli army routinely carries out raids in the city and adjacent refugee camp.
‘Violence in the West Bank’
Violence in the West Bank, which had already surged before the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, has only escalated since. At least 553 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the Gaza war broke out, according to Palestinian officials. Attacks by Palestinians have killed at least 14 Israelis in the West Bank over the same period.
The Gaza Strip has been gripped by more than eight months of war since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, according to Israeli official figures. Militants took 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead. Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has since killed at least 37,551 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
(With agency inputs)
Comments
0 comment