Israeli soldiers were detaining two Palestinians during an operation in Jenin. Photo: Reuters/Mohamad Torokman
By Matthew Doran, ABC
Warning: This story contains details that may be confronting.
Video has emerged appearing to show two Palestinians being "executed" by Israeli forces in the West Bank, with the Israeli military saying it has launched an investigation into the incident.
Two separate videos of the same incident, filmed by local media, and a third by Reuters showed two men walking out of a building in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
Israeli vehicles could be seen inside the city, with troops carrying rifles and surrounding a building, while a machine broke through a roller door, Palestine TV news footage showed.
The men exited a building with their hands raised in the air in a sign of surrender, before lying on the ground and being kicked by one of the soldiers.
The pair then appeared to be told to move back inside and then appeared to be shot by Israeli soldiers.
The roller door was then collapsed onto the bodies, making way for more soldiers to clear the scene and cover them with blankets.
The Palestinian Authority's (PA) Government Communication Centre shared the video filmed by Al Ghad TV on X, saying the two men were "executed" and labelled it "an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international law".
PA ambassador to the United Kingdom Husam Zomlot labelled the incident as "summary executions" and said it was a "war crime and part of a pattern across the occupied territory".
"International statements of condemnation are not enough - criminals must be held accountable," he wrote on X.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Police acknowledged the incident, but did not make any concessions.
The two organisations said they were searching for Palestinians, "who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces".
"The forces entered the area, enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours," they said. "Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited.
"Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects."
The Israeli authorities said the incident was "under review by the commanders on the ground".
'Dehumanisation of Palestinians'
Israel's controversial right-wing national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, expressed support for the officers.
"The fighters acted exactly as expected of them - terrorists must die!"
Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem named the two Palestinians as Yusef 'Asa'sah, 39, and al-Muntaser bel-lah 'Abdallah, 26, and said they were executed "apparently while posing no threat to the forces".
"The execution documented today is the result of an accelerated process of dehumanisation of Palestinians and the complete abandonment of their lives by the Israeli regime," executive director Yuli Novak said.
"In Israel, there is no mechanism that acts to stop the killing of Palestinians or is capable of prosecuting those responsible.
"It is therefore the duty of the international community to end Israel's impunity, and hold accountable those responsible for planning and carrying out its criminal policies against the Palestinian people."
In recent days, Israeli forces have ramped up raids across the north of the West Bank as part of what they describe as counterterrorism operations.
Palestinian authorities and paramedics have complained of Palestinians being beaten by Israeli soldiers.
In late January and early February, Israeli forces raided three refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams.
About 32,000 people are still displaced as a result of the operation, with Israeli forces locking the community out of the area.
More than 1000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since October 2023.
- ABC
