According to the Palestinian man’s testimony, he was held for several hours at an IDF base while handcuffed and blindfolded. He was later released onto the road, where he says he was forced to hobble several hundred meters with his crutches before reaching his family’s vehicle
An Israeli soldier was filmed on Friday forcing an elderly Palestinian man, who lost a leg in April after being shot by the security chief of a nearby Israeli settlement, to the ground and aiming his weapon at him in the West Bank.
A Palestinian activist who spoke with the man, Sheikh Saeed al-Amour, says that according to the sheikh, the same security chief who shot him in April entered his olive grove on Friday and cut the fence surrounding it.
Al-Amour said he tried to stop him, at which point the security head called in IDF forces, who detained the amputee.
The IDF said that the soldiers used “reasonable force in light of his resistance,” adding that al-Amour “acted violently toward a security vehicle” from Avigayil.
Footage from the scene shows several soldiers carrying al-Amour after he was thrown to the ground in the village of Rakeez in the southern Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta), followed by another soldier taking his crutches.
According to al-Amour’s testimony, he was held for several hours at the IDF base in the settlement of Otniel while handcuffed and blindfolded. He was later released onto the road near the base along with another Palestinian detainee, without being charged.
Al-Amour said he was forced to hobble several hundred meters with his crutches until he reached a vehicle belonging to family members who came to collect him, after they had been unaware for hours where he was being held.
Al-Amour was detained about two weeks ago after fencing off his plot of land. At the time, the IDF said the fence had been erected illegally, close to the main access road to the nearby settlement of Avigayil.
After the security chief shot al-Amour in the leg in April, the IDF said in response that he had carried out a suspect-arrest procedure in accordance with regulations.
Numerous videos from al-Amour’s land in recent months show settlers trespassing on his property, mocking his disability, pushing him, and even stealing his crutches. In one video, a teenager is heard addressing the sheikh and asking, “Where is your leg? Where?”
Earlier on Saturday, Palestinian media outlets reported settlers raided a family’s home in the Bedouin community of Al-Malih in the northern Jordan Valley.
According to the reports, the settlers attacked the family members and wounded a child. One of the Israelis who raided the place was also wounded in the fight that broke out.
IDF forces arrested four members of the family, including two women. “Three settlers were riding around on an ATV in the Ein Al-Hilweh area and also in Hammam Al-Malih,” a resident of the area told Haaretz.
“We reported to the police and the Coordination and Liaison Administration that they had been walking around since morning. They drove between the tents and tried to run people over and scare them.”