Israeli forces tie wounded Palestinian to jeep in West Bank raid

JERUSALEM - Israeli troops tied a wounded Palestinian man to a military vehicle during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the army said Sunday,  admitting that soldiers had violated operational procedures.

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 military said the Palestinian was wounded during a "counterterrorism operation" launched to apprehend wanted suspects.

During an exchange of fire between troops and militants, one of the suspects was wounded and apprehended, the military said in a statement.

"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.

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, which had already surged before the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, has only escalated since.

At least 549 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, according to an AFP  tally of Israeli official figures.

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, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on 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,  also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. — Agence France-Presse