Jerusalem24 – 19-year-old Basel Basbous has been released from the Israeli hospital where he was being detained after being shot and injured by Israeli forces on 3 October.
Basbous’ friends Khaled Anbar and Salameh Ra’afat were both shot and killed. The army claimed they had attempted to ram a group of soldiers with their car; however, Basbous’ release appears to contradict this claim.
Basbous said in an interview this afternoon that he and his friends were returning from work and stopped to smoke a cigarette. They were informed by a passerby that the Israeli army was nearby and decided to return to their car and take a different route home. After turning a corner, they found themselves immediately in front of the soldiers.
Basbous says their car immediately came under fire.
“I have no idea what happened,” says Basbous. “I fell unconscious and woke up three days later in the hospital.”
Basbous says he was under heavy security, with soldiers stationed near him “24 hours a day”.
He also claims he was never informed of his friends’ deaths. “After 15 days, no one told me, it was on the phone that I saw [they were dead]. I didn’t believe it at first, it took me two days to process.”
Basbous is currently being treated at Al-Istishari hospital in Ramallah.
It was originally reported by Israeli authorities (who detained Basbous as well as the bodies of Anbar and Ra’afat ) that Basbous, rather than Ra’afat, had been killed in the assault by the Israeli army.
It is still unclear how the error occurred.
Watch the full interview with Basbous below.
