JENIN: Israeli security forces shot two Palestinian men on Thursday who appeared to be surrendering and unarmed during a raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestine TV news footage showed.
In the footage, the men are seen exiting a building surrounded by armed Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, lifting their shirts and lying on the ground in an apparent surrender. The forces then appeared to direct the men back inside the building before opening fire at close range.
A Reuters journalist in the vicinity saw the men leave the building, appearing to surrender, and later, after hearing shots fired, saw Israeli forces standing near what appeared to be a lifeless body.
The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that the two men were killed in the shooting, identifying them as 26-year-old Montasir Abdullah and 37-year-old Yusuf Asasa.
The Israeli military and Israel Police issued a joint statement announcing that they had opened an investigation after forces opened fire toward suspects who had exited a building.
The statement did not give any reason for why the forces opened fire, nor say that the two men had lain on the ground before they were directed back inside the building and shot.
Jenin Governor Kamal Abu Al-Rub, speaking by phone, accused Israeli forces of carrying out a “cold-blooded execution” of two young men who he said were unarmed and had surrendered.
He said those who opened fire should face accountability, but expressed doubt that Israeli authorities would conduct a genuine investigation.
Israeli forces had been carrying out an operation in the Jenin area to apprehend individuals wanted for “terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces,” the Israeli military and police said in the joint statement.
The two men who were shot were wanted individuals who were affiliated with a “terror network in the area of Jenin,” the statement said. It did not specify what the two men were accused of nor disclose any evidence of their alleged link with a terror network.
According to the military and police, security forces had surrounded the building where the men were located before initiating a “surrender procedure” that lasted several hours.
“Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects,” the statement said, adding that the shooting was “under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir later issued a statement giving his “full backing” to the military and the police unit that was involved in the shooting.
“The fighters acted exactly as expected of them — terrorists should die!,” he wrote on X.
The Jenin raid marks the latest assault in a months-long Israeli campaign across northern West Bank cities. Israeli forces on Wednesday launched an operation on the nearby city of Tubas.
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which agreed to a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza last month, condemned the killing of the men in Jenin as an “execution” and urged the international community to intervene to stop what it called Israel’s “escalating field executions.”
The group did not claim the two men as members.
Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank who appeared to be unarmed
https://arab.news/rhgsj
Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank who appeared to be unarmed
- In footage, the men are seen exiting a building surrounded by armed Israeli forces in Jenin, lifting their shirts and lying on the ground in an apparent surrender
- The forces then appeared to direct the men back inside the building before opening fire at close range
Abbas reiterates opposition to displacement of Palestinians
- During Moscow talks, president calls for immediate halt to Israeli acts of terror
- Historically, Russia has supported and stood by the Palestinian people at political and diplomatic levels
MOSCOW: The Palestinian National Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his opposition to all attempts to displace Palestinian people from their land.
Speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the presidential palace in Moscow, Abbas was reported by the Kremlin’s official website as saying that “the Palestinian people are holding on to their land, and we categorically oppose attempts by the Americans and Israelis to expatriate Palestinians beyond Palestinian territory.”
He said the Palestinian people “will not abandon their land, whatever the cost.” Abbas stressed the need to fully implement US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, leading to the withdrawal of occupation forces and the launch of the reconstruction process.
He emphasized that the Palestinian Authority would assume a central role in administering the Gaza Strip, and that the enclave and the West Bank constituted two parts of a single territorial unit, with a unified and undifferentiated system of civilian institutions.
He stressed the need for an immediate halt to “Israeli settler colonialism and Israeli acts of terror in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, along with the release of withheld Palestinian funds and the cessation of all measures that undermined the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to continue the struggle for the realization of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and of their right to a fully sovereign, independent state based on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, while living in security and peace with neighbors.
He told Putin: “What we need is peace, and we hope that with your help and support, we can achieve it — a peace built on the basis of international legal resolutions, decisions of the United Nations, and the principles established following the wars of 1967 and 1973.
“East Jerusalem remains the capital of Palestine, and we know that Russia has always supported — indeed, was the first to support — Palestine, maintaining a firm stance in support of our people.”
Abbas thanked his Russian counterpart for Moscow’s support and commended the bilateral “bonds of friendship” between both countries. He added: “We are friends of Russia and the Russian people. For over 50 years our nations have been bound by a strong friendship that has developed over the decades and continues on the correct path. Russia is a great friend and a nation upon which we rely in many spheres.
“Historically, Russia has supported and stood by the Palestinian people at political and diplomatic levels. Your economic and financial support is both significant in scale and crucial in importance.”
Abbas emphasized moving forward with the implementation of a comprehensive national reform program aimed at consolidating the rule of law, strengthening the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability, and ensuring the separation of powers.
Putin affirmed Moscow’s “principled and consistent approach” to the Palestinian question.
He said: “We believe that only the establishment and full functioning of the Palestinian state can lead to a lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict.”
