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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">‘They Laughed as I Bled’ - Palestine Chronicle Speaks to Wounded Man Who Was Tied to Israeli Military Vehicle</h1>June 27, 2024</div>
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<img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mujahid_Jenin_SUPPLIED.png" alt="" title="Mujahid_Jenin_SUPPLIED" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="408" height="274" style="margin-right: 25px;">
Mujahid Al-Abadi was wounded and tied to a military vehicle in Jenin. (Photo: supplied)
<p><strong>By <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/fahya-shalash" title="Display all articles for Fayha Shalash - Ramallah">Fayha Shalash – Ramallah</a></strong></p>
<blockquote>
<h3><span>“The temperature of the metal was very high, and because my
clothes were torn as a result of the torture and beatings, my entire
back had deep burns and skin abrasions.” </span></h3>
</blockquote>
<p><span>Mujahid Al-Abadi is 24 years old. He sells vegetables. </span></p>
<p><span>On June 22, Israeli soldiers who invaded the northern West Bank
city of Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp shot and wounded Al-Abadi
and then tied him to the hood of a military vehicle. </span></p>
<p><span>When the video was shared on social media, the shocking
practice of abuse carried out against Palestinians by the Israeli army
was revealed to the world.</span></p>
<p><span>The Palestine Chronicle spoke with Al-Abadi at the hospital
where he is still receiving treatment, as he suffers from severe health
complications.</span></p>
<p><span>Al-Abadi believed he miraculously survived the bloody abuse he
was subjected to at the hands of the Israeli army. “I felt I was dying
while I was still alive, and I was sure I would not see my family
again,” he said.</span></p>
<h4><strong>Shot, then Beaten </strong></h4>
<p><span>It was an ordinary day, Al-Abadi told us. He had spent the
night at his uncle’s house in the Jabriyat neighborhood the previous
night – last Saturday. </span></p>
<p><span>But in Jenin, nothing is ordinary.</span></p>
<p><span>When the news spread of a major Israeli incursion into the
city, Al-Abadi decided to stay at his uncle’s house and not return to
his home in the camp because he knew that Israeli occupation soldiers
usually shoot anyone they encounter in the street.</span></p>
<p><span>Suddenly, military vehicles surrounded several houses in the
neighborhood, including his uncle’s. After the soldiers called on
everyone inside the house to go into the yard, they shot directly at
Al-Abadi, wounding him in his leg and arm.</span></p>
<p><span>He remained lying on the ground, bleeding for half an hour while the soldiers prevented any ambulance from reaching him. </span></p>
<p><span>Then the soldiers started beating him up, targeting the areas of his injuries. The bleeding got worse.</span></p>
<p><span>“They hit me hard where the bullets were. I was screaming in
pain while they were laughing. The more I screamed, the more they hit
me,” he said. “Then four soldiers picked me up and started swinging me
in the air and cursing me with the worst insults.”</span></p>
<h4><b>‘Leave Me Alone’ </b></h4>
<p><span>Al-Abadi was hit repeatedly on his limbs, punched in the chest, and head. In addition to his injuries, he sustained fractures.</span></p>
<p><span>The Israeli soldiers did not even check his papers to determine his identity, he told the Palestine Chronicle. </span></p>
<p><span>He kept screaming: “I did not do anything… Leave me alone!” They didn’t. </span></p>
<p><span>As he groaned in pain, the soldiers picked him up and threw him
to the ground. Then they picked him up again, threw him onto the hood
of the military vehicle, and strapped him to it. </span></p>
<p><span>The soldiers then drove the wounded man through the streets of the neighborhood.</span></p>
<p><span>“The temperature of the metal was very high, and because my
clothes were torn as a result of the torture and beatings, my entire
back had deep burns and skin abrasions,” Al-Abadi said. </span></p>
<p><span>Still in a state of shock, he said the soldiers “continued to drive around for more than 20 minutes.”</span></p>
<p><span>Only towards the end of the ordeal, the soldiers checked his
identity card and said that he was not on their list of ‘wanted
Palestinians.’ </span></p>
<h4><strong>‘Soaked in My Blood’</strong></h4>
<p><span>Despite declaring that he was not a target of arrest, the
Israeli soldiers continued to beat and abuse him while he was tied to
the military vehicle.</span></p>
<p><span>“They threw me on the ground, I was soaked in my blood and
unable to move. Only then, they allowed the ambulance to transport me. I
was in a miserable condition and I am still suffering from many
injuries and burns.”</span></p>
<p><span>Al-Abadi is now unable to move his fingers and toes, suggesting possible nerve damage, according to the doctors. </span></p>
<p><span>Doctors installed a plate on his arm in an attempt to repair the bone shattered as a result of the explosive bullet wound.</span></p>
<p><span>His brother, Amjad, told the Palestine Chronicle that he cannot
sleep at night because of the pain and that the burns on his back have
not healed yet.</span></p>
<h4><strong>No Justice </strong></h4>
<p><span>According to his brother, he will have to undergo several
surgeries. Nobody knows when he will be released from the hospital and
return to work at his vegetable stall in Jenin.</span></p>
<p><span>Amjad spends much time at the hospital with his brother and
sometimes cries in despair fearing that his brother will never fully
recover.</span></p>
<p><span>“What caused the most serious damage was the abuse he suffered
following the injury and the fact that an ambulance was prevented from
approaching him for nearly an hour,” Amjad emphasized.</span></p>
<p><span>The family does not intend to file a complaint against the
Israeli soldiers, because they know too well that Israeli courts do not
deliver justice to Palestinians, no matter how horrific the crimes of
the soldiers are. </span></p>
<p><em>(The Palestine Chronicle)</em></p>
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<p><br></p>
<p><span><em>– Fayha’</em><em> Shalash is a Ramallah-based Palestinian
journalist. She graduated from Birzeit University in 2008 and she has
been working as a reporter and broadcaster ever since. Her articles
appeared in several online publications. She contributed this article to
The Palestine Chronicle.</em></span></p></div>
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