Israeli soldiers strapped a wounded Palestinian man to the hood of a military vehicle and drove him away — past two ambulances — following a gun battle in the occupied West Bank.
The shocking scene was caught on tape by someone who recorded a cellphone video from an overhead window as the armored truck and a second military vehicle drove around the ambulances, which appeared to have been heading to the shooting scene.
The wounded man was identified as Mujahed Azmi by Reuters, which said it confirmed the authenticity of the video posted on social media after the Saturday incident in the city of Jenin.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 23, 2024
Israeli army forces strapped a wounded Palestinian man to the hood of a military jeep during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin pic.twitter.com/PtTkH3dD88
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged that its troops acted improperly and said an investigation was underway.
"In violation of orders and standard operating procedures, the suspect was taken by the forces while tied on top of a vehicle," the military said in a prepared statement, according to the BBC. "The conduct of the forces in the video of the incident does not conform to the values of the IDF. The incident will be investigated and dealt with accordingly."
Azmi was reportedly handed off to Red Crescent medics for treatment.
Azmi's relatives said that he was wounded during an arrest raid and that when they asked for an ambulance, soldiers instead took him, tied him to the hood of the vehicle and drove off, according to Reuters.
In its statement, the Israeli military said the incident took place "during counter-terrorism operations to apprehend wanted suspects in the area of Wadi Burqin."
The military said that "terrorists opened fire at IDF troops, who responded with fire" and that "one of the suspects was injured and apprehended."
The shooting came amid an ongoing surge in West Bank violence triggered by the Oct. 7 surprise attacks by Hamas against Israel that sparked the latest Mideast war in Gaza.
More than 500 Palestinians, including 100-plus children, have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since Oct. 7, according to the latest figures compiled by the United Nations.
Nearly 75% of the fatalities occurred during Israeli military operations, mainly in Jenin and Tulkarm, the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said June 12 on its website.
More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli-Hamas War triggered by the Hamas raid of Israel that killed some 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds hostage.
