Jenin, West Bank – Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men in the Israeli-occupied West Bank yesterday.
A video caught on cam shows the two men exiting from a garage as Israeli troops surround them in West Banks’ Jenin.
Both lift their arms and shirts to show they are unarmed, then lie down in what appears to be a clear surrender.
Moments later, soldiers direct the men back toward the entrance of the garage.
As they crawled forward, multiple gunshots at close range directly hit the one man, apparently lifeless.
The Palestinian health ministry identified the victims as 26-year-old Muntasir Abdullah and 37-year-old Youssef Asasa.
The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, condemned what they believed to be a “heinous execution,” describing it as a deliberate Israeli war crime.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemns in the strongest terms the heinous field execution committed by the Israeli occupation army against two Palestinian youths in the Jabal Abu Dhahir area near Jenin camp, in a scene that constitutes a documented and complete war crime, and a flagrant violation of all international laws, agreements, norms and human values.”
The authority also called the attention of the international community to take immediate action against Israel to stop their crime. They emphasized: “The Ministry calls on the international community, especially the UN Security Council and international courts, to take immediate action to stop the Israeli killing machine, deter crimes, impose urgent international protection mechanisms for the Palestinian people, including through UN peacekeeping forces, and to begin prosecuting the political and military leaders of the occupation responsible for these crimes, as they are war criminals who must be held accountable under international law.”
On the other hand, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Police released a joint statement confirming that forces opened fire, alleging them of wanted individuals committing terrorist activities.
“After they exited the building, gunfire was carried out at the wanted individuals,” IDF said.
They said the men were involved in terror networks within the area, but did not disclose any evidence on the allegations.
However, they said the shooting is now under investigation to review the incident.
“The incident is currently under investigation by field commanders and will be transferred for review by the relevant authorities,” it added.
The killings came amid a newly wide Israeli counterterrorism operation in the West Bank on Wednesday.