BBC uncovers more cases of Israeli army forcing wounded Palestinians onto jeeps
Two more Palestinian men, injured during a military operation in the occupied West Bank last week, have told the BBC that Israeli soldiers forced them onto the bonnet of an army jeep and drove them at high speeds along village roads.
These allegations come days after footage of 23-year-old Mujahid Abadi Balas clinging to the bonnet of an Israeli army jeep sparked international outrage.
The BBC spoke to Samir Dabaya and Hesham Isleit, who recounted similar experiences during the operation in Jabariyat, on the outskirts of Jenin.
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Samir, a 25-year-old now in a Jenin hospital, claimed he was shot in the back, beaten, and then forced onto the bonnet of a jeep.
"They took off my [trousers]. I wanted to hold onto the car, but [one soldier] hit my face and told me not to. Then he started driving. I was waiting for death," he told the BBC.
He showed the BBC security camera footage appearing to show him semi-naked on a fast-moving jeep marked with the number 1.
Hesham Isleit also described being shot and forced onto the same jeep.
He recounted trying to run from the shooting, being hit in the leg, and subsequently being undressed and forced onto the hot bonnet of the jeep.
"They ordered us to stand up, and undressed us," he said, "then they asked us to get onto the front of the jeep. The car was so hot, it felt "like fire."
"I was barefoot and undressed. I tried to put my hand on the jeep and I couldn't, it was burning hot. I was telling them it was very hot, and they were forcing me to get on – telling me that if I didn't want to die, I should do it," Hesham told BBC.
The Israeli army said the cases were under review and, regarding Mujahid Abadi Balas' incident, admitted the actions violated orders and procedures, promising an investigation.
Mujahid, speaking from his hospital bed, detailed a harrowing ordeal of being beaten and thrown onto the jeep.
He provided the BBC with a second video supporting his account, showing Israeli soldiers' aggressive treatment.
The Israeli army said the operation in Jabariyat aimed to arrest wanted suspects and involved exchanges of live fire. They acknowledged that soldiers violated military protocol by tying a wounded suspect to the jeep.
Violence in the West Bank, already on the rise before the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, has escalated since then with frequent army raids on fighter groups, rampages by Jewish settlers in Palestinian villages, and deadly Palestinian street attacks.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem reported increased violence against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers and settlers since the 7 October Hamas attack.
Its spokesman, Shai Parnes, said that since the 7 October Hamas attacks, violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and settlers has reached record levels.
"It's more radicalised, it's more brutalised, it's more extreme," he told BBC.
"Since 7 October, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed – more than 100 of them minors – and every day there are invasions of Palestinian cities."
Jenin has been a focal point for Israeli raids, with more than 120 Palestinians killed since 7 October. Despite the violence, armed men continue to patrol Jenin camp, backed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with residents asserting the resistance will not cease.
A recent video of Mujahid Abadi Balas verified by Reuters showed a wounded Palestinian man strapped to the hood of an Israeli military jeep during an arrest raid in Jenin on 20 June.
The Israeli military later in a statement said Israeli forces were fired at and exchanged fire, wounding a suspect and apprehending him.
Soldiers then violated military protocol, the statement said. "The suspect was taken by the forces while tied on top of a vehicle," it said.
The military said the "conduct of the forces in the video of the incident does not conform to the values" of the Israeli military and that the incident will be investigated and dealt with.
