Driving over a corpse… Criticism pours in over “excessive cruelty”
Israeli military “moves in to rescue our troops…” “Unintended situation”
Controversy is spreading after a video of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) vehicle driving over the body of a Palestinian man believed to be a member of an armed group was posted on social media.
According to foreign media such as Al Jazeera on the 9th (local time), a gunfight took place between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians at a house in Tulkarem, West Bank, Palestine on the 8th. Immediately after the incident, the Israeli border police announced, “Special forces were dispatched to arrest wanted militants,” and “three militants were killed.”
The Tulkarm Brigades, an armed group linked to Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority, also said that one of the three killed was its member, but this has not yet been clearly confirmed.
CCTV footage of the incident at the time spread on social media, sparking controversy. The video showed Palestinian men running out as Israeli troops raided a house. A man with a gun was also captured. And three men fell to the ground after being shot by Israeli troops.
Afterwards, an Israeli military vehicle was captured passing over the body of a Palestinian man. When the body was crushed by the wheels, the vehicle stopped for a moment, but then moved forward again and the body dragged by the vehicle was crushed by the rear wheels again.
After the video was released, there was a flood of criticism that mutilating a body that had already stopped breathing was an excessive act of cruelty. The Palestinian Authority also condemned this as a “heinous crime” in a statement.
According to AFP, as the controversy grew, the Israeli military explained, “We were dispatched to rescue our troops at the time,” and that driving over the body was “unintentional.” He also added, “The video does not contain the entire situation,” and that the truth is being investigated.
There are concerns that this incident, which occurred amidst the spread of conflict not only in the Gaza Strip, where the recent war between Israel and Hamas is taking place, but also in the West Bank, will further escalate tensions.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.