Israeli troops kill two Palestinians in Jenin as they try to surrender

According to video and witness accounts from the scene, Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinian men as they attempted to surrender to the military in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Nour Odeh, a journalist for Al Jazeera, claimed journalists in Jenin reported on Thursday that the two men had “pulled their shirts up, showing that they were unarmed” before the military had ordered them to return to the building where they were huddled up.

They were then shot dead, they said. According to Odeh, who was reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, “they were executed.”

The Israeli army claimed in a statement that its troops had “initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours” and that they had been following wanted people in the Jenin area.

The statement stated that “fire was directed at the suspects” after the men left the building. The commanders on the ground are currently reviewing the incident, and it will be passed on to the appropriate professional bodies.

Odeh noted that historically, Israeli investigations into Palestinian killings didn’t typically result in criminal prosecutions or indictments.

The deadly shooting in Jenin was described as a “shocking crime” by Mustafa Barghouti, the leader of the political party’s Palestinian National Initiative.

He wrote on X that “the Israeli army executed two Palestinian men after they surrendered and were detained in Jenin, in front of the cameras.” How can anyone continue to deny the Israeli war crimes?

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, expressed satisfaction with the killings on social media, saying that terrorists “must die” because Israeli forces “adjusted exactly as expected from them.

Increasingly violent

In response to the intensifying crackdown on Palestinians in the occupied territory, Israel deployed attack helicopters and drones for a second day in a row.

On Thursday, a day after conducting a large-scale military operation in the area, Israeli troops laid siege to large portions of the northeastern Tubas governorate.

Since the Israeli incursion began on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, at least 25 Palestinians have been hurt and 100 others have been taken into custody.

Residents claim that the military has launched arbitrary attacks against civilians, blocked journalists and ambulances, and damaged infrastructure as a result of Israel’s claim that the operation is aimed at eradicating Palestinian armed groups.

In the shadow of Israel’s ongoing conflict with Gaza, which according to top human rights organizations and experts, Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have experienced a rise in Israeli military and settler violence.

About 32, 000 residents of several refugee camps in the area have been forced out of their homes since January, with Israel preventing them from returning. This is particularly hard-hit northern West Bank.

Human Rights Watch claimed that the forced eviction of Palestinians from Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps constituted crimes against humanity.

Israeli forces committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, according to a statement from a HRW official.

Violence a part of the “cruel system of apartheid”

Over the past two years, Israel’s military operations in the occupied West Bank have doubled, according to Al Jazeera’s Odeh on Thursday night. She said that every day there are 47 Israeli raids on Palestinian communities.

During this week’s military assault, Israeli soldiers repeatedly beat scores of Palestinians, including an 85-year-old man, Odeh said.

This raid is more severe than other similar ones that are taking place throughout the West Bank. She said, “Israel is undoubtedly using its muscles,” “We are seeing an increased level of violence meted out to civilians,” the statement read.

UNRWA’s representative criticized the most recent violence, noting that Israel continues to impose demolition orders in the northern West Bank despite “relentless” destruction over the past year.

In a social media post, Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs for the West Bank, stated that in the Jenin refugee camp, 12 structures are scheduled to be destroyed later this week. Another 11 structures are expected to be partially destroyed.

According to Friedrich, “This development is the most recent instance in our ongoing efforts to re-engineer the topography of refugee camps in the northern [West Bank],” noting that more than 200 structures have been subject to demolition orders in the camp since February.

According to him, “This systematic destruction only serves to tighten Israeli forces’ control over the camps over the long term” and goes against the fundamental principles of international law.

Amnesty International also referred to the intensified Israeli military operations in the occupied territory as part of “Israel’s cruel system of apartheid against Palestinians.”

Source: Aljazeera