Mujahed Abadi says he has not been able to sleep since Israeli forces shot, beat and tied him to the hood of a military vehicle two days ago, apparently using him as a human shield.
Speaking to Al Jazeera in Arabic from Ibn Sina hospital in the West Bank on Monday, Abadi said Israeli troops offered no explanation for their “crimes.”
Video footage of the incident on Saturday in Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank, has sparked international outrage and calls for accountability.
Abadi, 24, said he had left his uncle's house in Jenin while Israeli troops were raiding the neighborhood.
He was shot in the arm and leg and took cover behind a nearby vehicle. He said that after almost two hours of hiding while his wounds bled, Israeli troops forced him out of hiding and began punching and kicking him, including at his gunshot wounds.
“It was a big shock. At that moment he wished he were dead,” Abadi said, adding that although he was clearly unarmed, the troops did not provide him with any medical assistance.
Instead, Israeli troops wanted to inflict more pain on him, he said.
“Two soldiers lifted me by my hands and feet and swung me back and forth to throw me against the military vehicle,” Abadi said.
“They did it the first time, I fell to the ground. In addition to my injuries, they dropped me. The second time one of them picked me up and threw me against the vehicle.”
The hood of the vehicle was extremely hot and left burns all over his back, he told Al Jazeera.
He said that after being driven away in the military jeep, he was finally dropped off at a house and transferred to Palestinian doctors.
“His only concern was torturing and beating me. “They committed these crimes against me, they beat me and tortured me, then they asked me my name,” said the 24-year-old Palestinian.
“They didn't offer me any explanation… at all. On the contrary, they wanted to hit me a little more. They didn't tell me anything. The only thing I remember is that they laughed while they hit me.”
The Israeli military confirmed the incident on Saturday and described Abadi as “one of the suspects” targeted in the attack who was “wounded and detained.”
“In violation of orders and standard operating procedures, forces took away the suspect while he was tied on the roof of a vehicle,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
“The conduct of the forces in the video of the incident does not conform to the values of the [Israeli military]. “The incident will be investigated and dealt with accordingly.”
However, Abadi said he was a bystander and emphasized that Israel is not looking for him, as evidenced by his brief detention.
The Israeli military has been regularly carrying out deadly attacks in the West Bank in recent years, a campaign that intensified after the war in Gaza began in October.
At least 553 Palestinians, including 137 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 7, according to Palestinian health authorities, and Israel has also detained thousands of other people in the territory.
Saturday's incident in Jenin received international condemnation.
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter said she was “shocked by the violence” committed by Israeli forces.
“How many of these inhumanities do we need to witness before sanctioning Israel?” De Sutter wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
The United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, described the treatment of Abadi as a “human shield in action.”
“It is surprising how a state born 76 years ago has managed to literally turn international law upside down,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
“This risks being the end of multilateralism, which for some influential member states no longer serves any relevant purpose.”
Abadi's injuries include a broken arm from the impact of the bullet, a wounded leg and burns on his back, as well as psychological scars, he said.
“Until now I can't sleep at all. I am suffering from a strong psychological situation. I try to sleep, but I wake up immediately,” Abadi said.
