US Urges Probe on Reported Footage of Wounded Palestinian on Hood of Israeli Military Vehicle

An Israeli soldier stands by a vehicle during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on Oct. 4, 2015. AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed

A new video that spread across social media over the weekend is purported to show a wounded Palestinian man strapped to the hood of an Israeli military vehicle traveling around the West Bank, prompting calls for an investigation by U.S. and other international officials.

Al Jazeera was among the first outlets to begin sharing the footage on social media on June 22. In a post on social media platform X, Al Jazeera correspondent Hamdah Salhut claimed the Israeli forces seen in the video were using the wounded man as a “human shield” during a raid in the Jenin community of the West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), a relief organization active in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also shared the footage. The relief organization claimed the incident happened in the Jabarat area of Jenin and that Israeli forces barred their personnel from providing aid to the wounded man, instead electing to drive around with him attached to the hood of their vehicle and detain him for some time before eventually allowing PRCS personnel to take him to a hospital.

“I will say, we saw that video; it was shocking,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said during a Monday press briefing.

“The practice was absolutely unacceptable. Humans should never be used as human shields. The [Israel Defense Forces] should swiftly investigate what happened, hold people accountable.”

The department spokesman said he had reviewed a statement from the Israeli military indicating that it has already begun investigating the incident, insisting that the actions on display in the video are inconsistent with the orders those soldiers were under, and vowing to hold those responsible accountable.

In an emailed statement, the Israel Defense Forces told The Epoch Times that its troops were conducting counterterrorism operations in the area of Wadi Burqin on the western outskirts of Jenin when “terrorists opened fire at IDF troops, who responded with fire.”

“During the exchange of fire, one of the suspects was injured and apprehended. In violation of orders and standard operating procedures, the suspect was taken by the forces while tied on top of a vehicle,” the IDF statement read. “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.”

The IDF confirmed their troops transferred the wounded suspect to PRCS for medical treatment. It did not provide further details about the suspect’s medical status or whether they would take the man back into custody following his hospital stay.

The alleged incident in Jenin comes as accusations abound on both sides about the use of human shields in the long-running Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Such allegations have intensified following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel by the Hamas terrorist group and the ensuing Israeli military campaign across the Gaza Strip.

Hamas has faced numerous accusations of deliberately endangering the civilian population in the Gaza Strip by using schools, hospitals, apartments, and other civilian structures to store supplies, fire their weapons, and serve as command posts in the ongoing urban battle.

Israeli soldiers and police have also faced previous accusations of using Palestinians as human shields. In January, footage began to circulate online that allegedly showed an Israeli soldier marching a man down a street in the West Bank while pointing his rifle over the man’s shoulder. In an interview with Al Jazeera, West Bank shop owner Bahaa el-Din Abu Ras identified himself as the man in the video and claimed the Israeli soldiers used him as a shield, placing his body between them and Palestinians in the area who had been hurling stones as the Israeli forces raided the area and searched people and nearby shops.