Israeli Border Police Kill Men Seen Surrendering in West Bank; Authorities Call It ‘Execution’
Shocking video shows men shot dead after raising hands in West Bank.
Israeli border police fatally shot two Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank on Thursday after the individuals emerged from a garage with hands raised and shirts lifted in apparent surrender, in an incident captured on video and immediately condemned as a “cold-blooded execution” by Palestinian authorities. The Israeli military confirmed the deaths of Al-Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Asasa, 37, in Jenin, stating the men were “wanted militants” who had earlier thrown explosives, and announced that the shooting is under investigation.
Footage aired on Palestine TV and Egypt’s Al-Ghad channel shows the unarmed men complying with orders to lie on the ground and then stand again before multiple gunshots ring out as they kneel surrounded by heavily armed troops. At least one officer is clearly seen firing at close range. Palestinian officials described the killings as an extrajudicial execution in blatant violation of international humanitarian law, while Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised the forces, declaring that “terrorists must die.”
The incident occurred during an intensified Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank that has seen over 100 Palestinians detained since Tuesday. Israel maintains its raids target militant networks, but human rights organisations accuse troops of systematic excessive force, noting that dozens of civilians, including children, have been killed in similar operations since the escalation following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
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Elsewhere, Israel conducted fresh airstrikes on suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, continuing a pattern of cross-border attacks despite a nominal ceasefire. Meanwhile, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American teenager, Mohammed Ibrahim, was released after nine months in Israeli detention; family members described him as emaciated, pale, and still suffering from untreated scabies contracted in prison.
The killings have reignited accusations that Israeli investigations into alleged troop misconduct rarely result in accountability, drawing parallels to the 2017 case of soldier Elor Azaria, who served only nine months for manslaughter after shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker. As international concern mounts over escalating violence in the occupied territories, Palestinian leaders warned that such incidents risk further destabilising the fragile regional truce.
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