Israeli military investigates incident in which Palestinians were tied to vehicle: NPR

A cloud of smoke rises during an Israeli army attack in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on June 6. The Israeli military said it was investigating an incident in which a wounded Palestinian was strapped into an Israeli military jeep on Saturday while forces were conducting “anti-terror operations” in Jenin.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

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JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

TEL AVIV – A video circulating on social media shows a wounded Palestinian being transported on the hood of an Israeli military vehicle into the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

The Israeli military confirmed the incident on Saturday and said the action was “a violation of orders and standard procedures” and was being investigated. “The conduct of the forces in the video of the incident does not reflect the values” of the military, it said. NPR has not independently verified the video.

The incident occurred on Saturday near the Jenin refugee camp, which is home to more than 10,000 Palestinians. The Israeli military said it was part of an “anti-terror operation.” The military said the man was a suspect who was injured during a raid and “was taken to the Red Crescent to receive medical attention.”

In the video – apparently shot from a nearby window – a man can be seen handcuffed to the hood of an Israeli military jeep as it drives along a dusty road. The man moves while handcuffed.

NPR spoke to the man’s cousin, Ezer Azmi, who said he witnessed the incident. He claims Israeli soldiers shot his cousin, who was left bleeding in the street for hours before beating him and then placing him on the hood of the vehicle.

“This is not acceptable to us or to anyone else, or to anyone who fears God,” Azmi told NPR. He said his cousin was not involved in any terrorist activities.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.

Azmi said the Israeli military’s statement that the incident was being investigated was meaningless to him. “They don’t convince us. No apology, not even a million apologies from them. They are just good at killing people who did nothing,” he said.

The incident comes amid an increase in violence in the West Bank since the Gaza war began last October. Earlier, Hamas led an attack in southern Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage.

Since the war in Gaza began, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by either the Israeli military or armed Israeli settlers, according to the United Nations. At least 10 Israelis – including security forces – have also been killed in the violence, according to the UN.

By comparison, 151 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2022, the deadliest year in more than a decade.

Two deaths from violence were reported in the West Bank on Saturday alone. The Israeli army said an Israeli man was found shot dead in his car in the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya, with Israeli troops entering the town in response. The Palestinian Health Ministry also announced the death of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot by Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Ramallah last week. The Israeli military said its forces opened fire on Palestinians who had thrown stones at them during a raid, the Associated Press reported.

It was also a deadly weekend in the Gaza Strip. Gaza health officials said at least 38 people were killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City in the north.

The violence comes as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrives in Washington at the invitation of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Gallant is scheduled to meet with senior U.S. officials to discuss Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which has claimed more than 37,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Nuha Musleh contributed to this report from Ramallah in the West Bank.