Israeli forces killed two Palestinians after they appeared to have surrendered

A video has emerged of two Palestinians who surrendered in the occupied West Bank being shot dead by Israeli security forces.

The incident took place during an ongoing Israeli military operation in the city of Jenin.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) accused Israeli forces of committing a “war crime” and described the killings as “brutal” field executions.

The Israeli military and police say the men were wanted for “ties to a terrorist network” and that the incident is under review.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gavir has given his full support to the authorities, adding that “terrorists must die”.

In the video, two Palestinian men exit a building with their hands raised. They are surrounded by several Israeli border guards. They then kneel on the ground. One of them lifts his T-shirt to show that he is not armed.

After a while they go back into the building. The border police then opened fire and killed them.

A joint statement from the IDF and police said they were trying to capture wanted individuals who had committed “terrorist activities,” including throwing explosives and shooting at security forces.

“The force entered the area, surrounded the structure where the suspects were staying and initiated a surrender process that lasted for several hours,” the statement said.

“After using engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects got out. After they got out, fire was directed towards the suspects.”

Writing on X, Ben-Gavir said that “the battles behaved as expected”.

The raid in Jenin is the latest in a month-long Israeli campaign in northern West Bank cities, which Israel says is necessary to deal with Palestinian armed groups it says are responsible for attacks on Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers. On Wednesday, Israeli forces launched an operation in the nearby town of Tubas.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated since Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, triggering a devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

Since then, Israeli forces or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, including members of armed groups and civilians, in the West Bank, the UN says. Israel says at least 44 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations.