Israeli soldiers kill two men in West Bank after a 'surrender procedure'

Israeli authorities are investigating an incident in Jenin, located in the occupied West Bank, where soldiers shot two men following what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a “surrender procedure,” according to a joint statement issued by a military spokesperson and Israel Police.

The Palestinian Authority confirmed the deaths, with the West Bank’s General Authority for Civil Affairs identifying the victims as 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Mahmoud Qassem Abdullah and 37-year-old Youssef Ali Youssef Asasa.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the shooting, calling it “a fully-fledged war crime and a flagrant violation of all international laws, conventions, norms, and humanitarian values.”

The IDF said the two men were wanted for alleged terror activities. In a joint statement with Israel Police, the military said its forces, working alongside border police, had sought to arrest “two individuals who belonged to a terrorist organisation operating in Jenin,” accusing them of throwing explosives and firing at security personnel.

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According to the IDF, the “surrender procedure” lasted several hours, during which the men exited the building after an engineering vehicle was deployed. “After they exited the building, gunfire was carried out at the wanted individuals,” the statement said.

Video footage circulating on social media appears to show the men leaving the building with their hands raised above their heads in a gesture of surrender, surrounded by Israeli soldiers. Later in the video, the two men are seen lying on the ground in front of the building’s entrance as multiple rounds of gunfire are heard. At least one body is visible on the ground.

“The incident is currently under investigation by field commanders and will be transferred for review by the relevant authorities,” the IDF statement added.

The shooting occurred amid a large-scale Israeli military operation across the West Bank on Wednesday, during which forces searched more than 220 sites, questioned dozens of individuals, and arrested several people wanted by authorities, according to an earlier IDF statement.

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Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised the military and police for their actions in Jenin. “I fully back the Border Police fighters and IDF soldiers who fired at wanted terrorists who came out of a building in Jenin. The fighters acted exactly as expected of them - terrorists must die!,” he wrote on social media.