Warning: this video contains graphic content
What appears to be the fatal shooting of two unarmed Palestinian men by Israeli soldiers has been caught on camera – and provoked outrage across the West Bank, where it was filmed.
Two Palestinian men have been killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank after they had appeared to surrender to troops.
The Palestinian prime minister’s office accused Israel of executing the men “in cold blood.”
They called the shooting of the two men, named by Palestinian authorities as 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Abdullah and 37-year-old Yousef Asasa, “an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
Israel said the men had thrown explosives and opened fire at troops. The Israeli military said it had opened an investigation into the deaths.
Palestinian authorities said Israel had taken away the bodies of the two men.
A video shown by the Arab state broadcasting union shows two men exiting a garage with their hands raised.
Both men lifted their shirts to show they were not carrying explosives or large weapons. They then appear to be ordered back to the entrance of the garage.
As they were ordered onto the ground before appearing to be shot at close range.
At least one soldier appears to fire his weapon. Media outlets reported that both men were killed. Video later shows soldiers dragging what appears to be a body outside the building.
In a statement, the Israeli military said the two men were wanted militants in the northern town of Jenin who had thrown explosives and opened fire at troops.
It said that after the men surrendered and exited a building, “fire was directed toward the suspects”.
They added that the incident was “under review” and would be referred “to the relevant professional bodies”.
Palestinians and human rights groups say such investigations yield few results, and Israeli troops are rarely prosecuted.
The shooting is part of a larger operation in a northeastern region of the West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state, in the 1967 war.
More than 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state.
Attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have increased since October 7, 2023, while evictions from towns and an increased number of checkpoints have made life harder for those living there.
Israel’s military has detained more than 100 people since Tuesday in the town of Tubas, according to Abdullah al-Zaghari, spokesman for the advocacy group Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.
The IDF said it was acting “proactively to thwart” terrorism and declined to comment further, adding a report would be provided later.
On November 19, Palestinian attackers stabbed an Israeli to death and injured three more before being shot by troops.
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