Israeli soldiers on Thursday shot dead two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank after they surrendered to troops. The Palestinian side accused Israel of executing the men "in cold blood." The Israeli military said an investigation has been launched. This was reported by the Associated Press.
The incident, captured in two videos shown by Arab television channels, occurred during another Israeli operation in the West Bank. The army has stepped up its presence in the region over the past two years. Israel says it is fighting militants, but Palestinians and human rights organizations accuse it of excessive use of force and of the deaths of dozens of unarmed civilians.
The country is fighting on several fronts amid an unstable truce in Gaza. On Thursday Israel carried out further airstrikes on suspected Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Ongoing conflicts in the region have raised concerns that unrest could spread and undermine the fragile truce in Gaza.
Details of the incident
The Israeli army announced the start of an investigation into the deaths of two men that Palestinians are calling an execution.
In video shown by the Egyptian broadcaster Al-Ghad without sound, the men lie on the ground in front of soldiers. They are then ordered to move toward a garage entrance. Both lifted their shirts, showing the absence of explosives or large weapons; one had his hands raised while moving. When they were on the ground surrounded by soldiers, shots ring out and the men fall without signs of life. At least one soldier is clearly seen opening fire.
In an official statement the Israeli military said the two men were wanted militants in the northern city of Jenin who had thrown explosives and fired at soldiers.
According to the statement, after the men surrendered and came out of the building, "fire was opened at the suspects." The military added that the incident "is under review" and will be referred to the appropriate professional bodies.
Palestinians and human rights organizations say such investigations rarely produce results, and Israeli soldiers are almost never held accountable.
Palestinian reaction
In Ramallah the office of the Palestinian prime minister accused Israel of executing the men "in cold blood." It called the shooting "an outright extrajudicial killing in gross violation of international humanitarian law."
Palestinian authorities identified the dead as Al-Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Asasu, 37, and said Israel took their bodies.
Escalation in the West Bank
The shooting was part of a larger operation in the northeastern West Bank. Israeli forces have detained more than 100 people since Tuesday in the city of Tubas, according to Abdullah al-Zagari, a representative of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club.
The army said the operation was in response to "attempts to establish terrorist footholds and the construction of terrorist infrastructure in the area." On Nov. 19 Palestinian attackers stabbed an Israeli and wounded three others before being shot dead by soldiers.
Israeli forces stepped up operations in the West Bank after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war in Gaza. The country is fighting on several fronts, including against Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The latest operation comes amid rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Israeli leaders downplay settlers' attacks, calling them the actions of a small minority. Palestinians say the attacks occur frequently, often near Israeli soldiers, and settlers are rarely punished.
Strikes on Lebanon ahead of the Pope’s visit
The Israeli Air Force on Thursday carried out another series of strikes across southern Lebanon. The army said it destroyed Hezbollah infrastructure, including launchers and weapons depots.
The UN on Tuesday said Israel had killed at least 127 civilians, including children, in strikes on Lebanon since the truce took effect last year. According to Politico, tensions escalated early in the week after a rare strike on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, that killed Hezbollah’s chief of staff.
On Thursday Lebanese Prime Minister Nawwaf Salam criticized Hezbollah for refusing to lay down arms in a rare public rebuke of the group. He said the Iran-backed militants had failed to deter Israeli airstrikes, protect the Lebanese people, or even save the lives of their own leaders.
Pope Leo XIV is due to visit the country on Sunday, where he will meet with political and religious leaders of the crisis-hit nation.
Release of an American teenager
Palestinian-American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim, who had been held in Israeli detention for nine months, was released Thursday evening and immediately taken to a hospital, his uncle told the Associated Press.
Noticeably thinner, with a shaved head and still wearing a gray jumpsuit, Ibrahim wiped away tears as family members embraced him immediately after his release in videos filmed by the family. His father, Zaher Ibrahim, kissed his son and wept.
"He is thin and pale, his eyes are hollow, and he still has traces of scabies"
– said his uncle Zeyad Kadour.
The teenager had been visiting family in the West Bank with his parents when he was arrested at night in the family home for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli settlers in the West Bank, according to the Council on American–Islamic Relations and several members of Congress. In statements, Mohammed said he confessed to throwing stones only after investigators threatened to beat him.
His family and lawyers said he was held in appalling conditions, contracted scabies and lost weight in prison.
