A video has emerged showing Israeli security forces shooting dead two Palestinians who surrendered in the occupied West Bank.
The incident occurred during the ongoing Israeli military operation in Jenin city.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) accused Israeli forces of committing “war crimes” and described the killings as “brutal” field executions.
Israeli military and police say the men were wanted men “associated with terrorist networks” and that the incident was under review.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has given his full support to the officers involved, saying “the terrorists must die”.
The video shows two Palestinian men coming out of a building with their hands raised. They are surrounded by several Israeli border guards. Then they kneel on the ground. One of them apparently lifts his T-shirt to show that he is not armed.
After a short time, they go back into the building. After this the border police opened fire, in which they were killed.
A joint statement from the IDF and police said the forces were trying to capture wanted individuals who had carried out “terrorist activities”, including throwing explosives and firing at security forces.
“Forces entered the area, surrounded the structure in which the suspects were located, and began a surrender process that lasted several hours,” the statement said.
“After the use of engineering equipment on the structure, the two suspects exited. Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.”
Writing on X, Ben-Gvir said, “The combatants acted exactly as they were expected to”.
The raid in Jenin is the latest in a months-long Israeli campaign in northern West Bank cities, which Israel says is necessary to deal with Palestinian armed groups it says were responsible for attacks on Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers. On Wednesday, the Israeli army conducted an operation in the nearby city of Tubas.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated since a Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023, which led to a devastating Israeli military operation in Gaza.
The United Nations says Israeli troops or settlers have since killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, including members of armed groups and civilians, in the West Bank. Israel says at least 44 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.
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