Israeli military kills two men after they appeared to surrender during operation in West Bank
Israeli authorities are reviewing an incident in which soldiers shot and killed two people who appeared to be surrendering in the occupied West Bank, an act described by the Palestinian Authority as a “fully-fledged war crime.”
The incident took place in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank, during a widescale “counterterrorism” operation by the Israeli military on Thursday. The Palestinian Authority confirmed their deaths and identified the men as 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Mahmoud Qassem Abdullah and 37-year-old Youssef Ali Youssef Asasa.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) identified the two men as fighters, saying in a statement that they exchanged fire with Israeli forces until their ammunition was depleted, after which they were besieged and killed in what it described as a “field execution.”
The PA said the incident was a “flagrant violation of all international laws, conventions, norms, and humanitarian values.”
Sharon Nahari, the lawyer for the three Border Police personnel involved, told CNN on Friday that his clients were interrogated by the State Attorney’s department of internal police investigations, which is conducting an inquiry into the incident. The three were later released on bail.
Nahari said that his clients genuinely believed their lives were in danger, and that the Border Police had commanded the suspects to remove their clothes to ensure that they were not armed, but they did not comply. The lawyer added that “the shooting was conducted merely for the sake of neutralizing them and not with the intention to kill.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the two individuals were wanted by authorities for alleged terror activities.
The IDF said it had been operating alongside border police to arrest two individuals who belonged to a “terrorist organization operating in Jenin,” and accused them of throwing explosive devices and gunfire at security forces.
The IDF added that the “surrender procedure” lasted several hours, with the men exiting the building after an engineering vehicle was used. “After they exited the building, gunfire was carried out at the wanted individuals,” the IDF said in a joint statement with the Israel Police.
“The incident is currently under investigation by field commanders and will be transferred for review by the relevant authorities,” the IDF said.
Video of the incident shared on social media showed two men emerging from a building with their hands raised above their heads in apparent surrender. They are surrounded by what appear to be Israeli soldiers.
The two men are later seen on the floor in front of the building’s entrance before multiple rounds of gunfire are heard. The body of at least one of the men could then be seen lying on the ground, according to the video.
The Israeli military launched a wide-scale military operation on Wednesday in the West Bank, with Israeli forces searching “over 220 sites,” questioning dozens and arresting “several wanted individuals,” per an earlier IDF statement.
The United Nations Human Rights office said Friday that it is “appalled by the brazen killing,” calling the incident a “summary execution.”
“Our office has verified that since 7 October, 2023, and up until the 27 November this year, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,030 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said at a press briefing in Geneva. “Among these victims were 223 children.”
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised the Israeli military and police following the incident.
“I fully back the Border Police fighters and IDF soldiers who fired at wanted terrorists who came out of a building in Jenin. The fighters acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists must die!,” he wrote on social media.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
