RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Prisoners Society said on Thursday that Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men during detention operations in the Jenin and Salfit governorates.
The society identified the two men as Mohammed Nazem Zayed, 29, from Jenin, and Mustafa Taha Mustafa Al-Khatib, 32, from Salfit.
In a statement, the society said that Zayed was targeted after Israeli soldiers surrounded a house in the town of Ya’bad, west of Jenin, before shooting him directly and subsequently withholding his body.
The statement added that Israeli forces also killed Al-Khatib during a raid on his home in Salfit, shooting him directly and leaving his body inside the house after extensively ransacking it.
It affirmed that these two crimes constitute an extension of the systematic policy of extrajudicial killings pursued by Israeli forces, a policy that has witnessed an unprecedented escalation since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
This escalation has seen a surge in the deliberate killing of Palestinians during arrest and raid operations, or after their detention and capture, it added.
The society added that numerous documented cases and incidents in recent months indicate that some Palestinians were killed after being detained and brought under Israeli control, citing reports of restraint marks on the bodies of some deceased detainees and information that emerged following the return of bodies released through prisoner exchange agreements.
It also asserted that the policy of extrajudicial killings is no longer limited to individual or exceptional acts, but has become a consistent approach and a central tool in the system of colonial violence practiced by the occupying state against Palestinians.
This occurs under political, legal, and military cover for these crimes, and the continued impunity is enjoyed at the international level.
It noted that Israel’s ongoing efforts to enact racist legislation and laws, most notably to execute Palestinian prisoners, reflect an official trend toward legitimizing killing and transforming execution into a declared and legally sanctioned policy.
This aligns with historical policies targeting Palestinians through arrest, killing, detention, and torture.
The society reiterated its demand that the international human rights system and the UN assume their legal and moral responsibilities regarding the escalating crimes committed by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people.
It called for holding Israeli leaders accountable for extrajudicial killings and field executions, and for ending the prevailing impunity that has emboldened Israeli forces to commit further crimes.
