The “execution” of two Palestinian men by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank this week has been condemned by human rights organizations and the UN, claiming that it highlights Israel’s “systematic policy.”
The “brazen killing” in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, which was captured on camera, was described as “yet another apparent summary execution,” according to a UN human rights office spokesperson on Friday.
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Palestinian deaths carried out by Israeli forces, settlers, and security forces have increased rapidly in the occupied West Bank, according to Jeremy Laurence, a Geneva-based journalist.
According to the most recent UN data, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 1,030 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023 and November 27 this year. At least 223 Palestinian children are included in that figure.
The illegal use of force by Israel’s security forces and the rise in Israeli settler violence must end, Laurence said.
Since footage from Jenin on Thursday showed its forces shooting two unarmed Palestinian men at close range as they attempted to surrender to the military during a raid, Israel has received widespread condemnation.
Before Israeli forces forced them back into a building they had been hunkered in, the men were later identified as Al-Muntasir Billah Abdullah, 26, and Youssef Asasa, 37.
The Israeli army then shot them dead, according to the video.
According to Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, “evidence andamp; footage show they were unarmed, had surrendered, and posed no threat.”
This reflects Israel’s widespread and systematic policy of unlawful killings throughout occupied Palestinian territory, according to the group, which includes Israel’s ongoing and systematic genocidal conflict with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
We urge the international community to take action right away, impose sanctions, and hold accountable.
Total impunity
The commanders on the ground are reviewing the incident, according to the Israeli military in a statement released on Thursday, and it will be transferred to the appropriate professional bodies.
However, according to experts, Israel only rarely launches criminal investigations into the killings of Palestinians by the military, even when there is footage of the incidents, and soldiers directly involved are rarely held accountable.
They claim that prominent members of the far-right government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have stoked violence against Palestinians.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of Netanyahu’s national security, wrote on social media that “terrorists must die” shortly after the killings in Jenin.
Ben-Gvir has been pushing for Israel to impose the death penalty for “terrorist” crimes, which rights advocates claim would “exclude Palestinians” from the scope of the law.
In response to the recent wave of Israeli attacks in the area, Israeli politicians have been calling for the West Bank to be officially annexed.
Israelis, according to Shai Parnes, director of BTselem’s public relations division, enjoy “total impunity” for their violence against Palestinians. Israel is unwilling and unable to investigate itself, he told Al Jazeera, “again and again.”
According to Parnes, “every time it’s forced to]investigate] because of international coverage in the media or international pressure from other states,” Parnes said.
“But the outcome is essentially the same every time. The “investigating mechanisms” in Israel are completely whitewashed, and their goal is to act as though they are investigating [while] giving the perpetrators total impunity.
He added that Israel has no desire to launch a credible investigation based on Ben-Gvir’s remarks, which appeared to celebrate the killings in Jenin.
