IDF probes shooting of Palestinian terror suspects after surrender
The Israeli military says the two Palestinians, shot dead in Jenin while surrendering, were wanted on suspicion of involvement in bombing and shooting attacks against troops.
The Israeli army and police have launched an investigation into the circumstances in which two Palestinians were shot dead in the occupied West Bank while apparently surrendering to Israeli forces.
The Palestinian Authority named the two men killed in Jenin – a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups – as 37-year-old Yussef Ali Asa’sa and 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Billah Mahmud Abdullah.
It said they were killed in a “brutal” summary execution and condemned the incident as a “war crime”.
The Israeli Defence Forces said the two men were wanted by Israel on suspicion of involvement in bombing and shooting attacks against troops.
The IDF said the pair were members of a terror network based in Jenin, according to The Times of Israel. Images circulating online showed one of the men brandishing firearms, indicating his affiliation with an armed group, the newspaper reports.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the police – which oversees the border guard unit – said they attempted to apprehend “wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces”.
They said they “enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited.
“Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.
“The incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”
Videos circulating on social media and on television channels showed two men emerging from a building with their arms raised, surrounded by Israeli forces.
They were then seen lying on the ground before being directed back inside the building. Gunshots rang out and the two men were seen lying on the ground.
AFP footage and video on social media shows the two men exiting the building then entering it again before the shots were fired. A building between the camera and the scene partially obscured the image.
Troops were later seen removing a body.
The Border Police officers involved in the incident claimed that the suspects had not followed their instructions.
“When the terrorists came out [of the building], we began carrying out security procedures on them. We didn’t know whether they had weapons or any kind of explosive device. We started instructing them on what to do, and the terrorists acted against the orders they were given,” the officers told Israeli Army Radio.
“At a certain point, one of the terrorists decided to go back inside the building against the instructions, and the second terrorist followed him, and therefore both were shot,” they added.
The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said the two men were “shot dead by Israeli forces in the Jabal Abu Dhahir area in the city of Jenin”, adding that their bodies were being held by Israeli forces.
The foreign ministry in Ramallah said it “strongly condemns the brutal field execution carried out by the Israeli occupation army against two Palestinian youths”, calling it a “deliberate Israeli war crime”.
Far right minister Itamar Ben Gvir offered his total backing to the Israeli forces involved. “I fully support the border guard members and Israeli army soldiers who shot at wanted terrorists who emerged from a building in Jenin,” he said on X.
“The forces acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists must die!”
Violence in the West Bank has soared since Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
It has not ceased despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas coming into effect last month.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, many of them militants, but also scores of civilians, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.
At least 44 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.
AFP
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