UN Condemns ’Israel’ Over Killing of Two Palestinians As Possible ‘Summary Execution’

By Staff, Agencies

The United Nations said Friday that the fatal shooting of two Palestinian men by "Israeli" forces in the occupied West Bank appeared to amount to a “summary execution.”

"We are appalled at the brazen killing by "Israeli" border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin," UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva, calling the incident "yet another apparent summary execution", in reference to the killings that took place on Thursday in the city of Jenin.

He said UN rights chief Volker Turk is calling for "independent, prompt and effective investigations into the killings of Palestinians", and for those responsible for killings and other violations in the occupied West Bank to "be held fully to account”.

Summary execution is a war crime under the Geneva Convention and international law.

A video has circulated widely on social media showing the two Palestinian men emerging from a building with their arms raised and their shirts lifted, clearly indicating they were unarmed and posed no threat to the "Israeli" forces. The troops then shoot them dead.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the martyrs as Al-Muntasir Billah Mahmoud Qassem Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Ali Yousef Asa’sa, 37. They were shot in the Abu Dhahir neighbourhood of Jenin. "Israeli" forces withheld their bodies after the killings.

Officers involved in the incident, reportedly from the "Border Police unit", claimed they fired after the two men failed to follow instructions.

The "Israeli" occupation forces and police, who were operating jointly in the area, admitted to the shootings, saying an investigation would be launched.

But "Israel’s" so-called national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the police, backed the officers and welcomed the killings.

He said on X the officers “acted exactly as expected of them."

The UN rights office spokesman said the incident came as killings of Palestinians by "Israeli" forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank have been surging, without accountability, even in the rare cases when investigations are announced.

He added that statements by a senior "Israeli" official seeking "to absolve 'Israeli' forces of responsibility" raised serious concerns about the credibility of any future review or investigation conducted by any entity that is not fully independent from the entity.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the “brutal” field executions as a “war crime”.

Hamas said the killings were not an isolated incident but part of a “systematic campaign of extermination” targeting Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The killings took place amid a wide-scale "Israeli" assault in the northern West Bank, focusing on the city of Tubas and its surrounding towns and villages.

Since 7 October 2023, "Israel" has stepped up its West Bank crimes, killing over 1,000 Palestinians, arresting thousands, and displacing tens of thousands in major assaults like those on Jenin and Tulkarm.