Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinians In West Bank Who Appeared To Be Surrendering

JENIN, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Israeli security forces shot two Palestinian men who surrendered and appeared unarmed during a raid on the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to Palestinian TV news footage.

In the footage, the men are seen leaving a building surrounded by armed Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, lifting their shirts and lying on the ground in surrender. The forces were then seen guiding the men into the building before opening fire at close range.

A Reuters reporter nearby saw the men leaving the building as if they were surrendering, and later saw Israeli forces standing next to a lifeless body after hearing shots fired.

In its statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that two people were killed in the armed attack and announced that these people were 26-year-old Montasir Abdullah and 37-year-old Yusuf Asasa.

The Israeli army and Israel Police issued a joint statement announcing that they had launched an investigation after forces opened fire on suspects coming out of a building.

The statement did not give a reason why the forces opened fire, nor did it say that the two men were lying on the ground before being led back into the building and shot.

Speaking by phone, Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub accused Israeli forces of “cold-blooded execution” of two young men, who he said were unarmed and surrendered.

He said those who opened fire should be held accountable, but expressed doubt that Israeli authorities would conduct a real investigation.

Israeli forces carried out an operation in the Jenin area to capture individuals wanted for “terrorist activities, including throwing explosives and opening fire on security forces”, the Israeli army and police said in a joint statement.

In the statement, it was stated that the two people who were shot were wanted people in connection with the “terrorist network in the Jenin region”. It did not specify what the two men were charged with and did not disclose any evidence of their alleged links to the terrorist network.

Security forces surrounded the building where the men were before initiating a “surrender procedure” that lasted several hours, according to the military and police.

In the statement, it was stated that “the suspects were opened fire upon after their exit” and that the attack was “investigated by the commanders on the ground and will be reported to the relevant professional organizations.”

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir later made a statement and gave “full support” to the army and police unit involved in the attack.

He wrote to X: “The fighters behaved exactly as they were expected to; the terrorists must die!”

The Jenin raid marks the latest offensive in Israel’s months-long campaign in cities in the northern West Bank. Israeli forces launched an operation in the nearby city of Tubas on Wednesday.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that reached an agreement with Israel on a ceasefire in Gaza last month, condemned the killing of the men in Jenin as an “execution” and called on the international community to intervene to stop what it called Israel’s “escalating number of field executions.”

The group did not claim that the two men were members.

(Reporting by Mohamad Torokman in Jenin, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and Alexander Cornwell and Steven Scheer in Jerusalem; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)