Knesset Member: “Israeli” Entity Expands Gaza’s Extermination Campaign into the West Bank

By Staff, Agencies

An “Israeli” member of Knesset has accused “Israel” of transferring its “war of extermination” from Gaza to the occupied West Bank, following the killing of two Palestinian men during a lengthy raid in Jenin.

Ofer Cassif, a Hadash MK, issued the warning on Thursday after “Israeli” forces shot dead 26-year-old Al Muntasir Mahmoud Qassem Abdullah and 37-year-old Youssef Ali Youssef Asasa. The Palestinian Authority confirmed their identities and condemned the killings as “a full-fledged war crime and a flagrant violation of international law, conventions, norms, and humanitarian values.”

Footage circulating online showed the two men emerging from a building with their hands raised before being gunned down. Additional video later captured one of the victims lying motionless as bursts of gunfire continued.

In a joint statement, the “Israeli” military spokesperson and “Israeli” police claimed troops opened fire after a “surrender procedure” intended to detain the men, whom Tel Aviv had accused of involvement in violence.

Cassif rejected that narrative entirely, calling the incident “cold-blooded murder” and warning that the global silence surrounding such actions was enabling a widening campaign of impunity.

Another MK, Ahmad Tibi, echoed that assessment, writing on social media, “This is what occupation looks like. And this is what a war crime looks like.” Sarit Michaeli, international director of the “Israeli” group B’Tselem, likewise described the shooting as “a cold-blooded execution.”

By contrast, extremist “Israeli” minister Itamar Ben Gvir openly celebrated the killings, declaring that “fighters acted exactly as expected — terrorists must die!”

The incident occurred amid ongoing daily violations by the “Israeli” entity of a supposed ceasefire intended to halt the Gaza genocide launched in October 2023. Despite the ceasefire’s implementation in early October, hundreds of Palestinians have since been martyred in repeated attacks. The broader war has already taken the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children.