The lawyer representing the three suspects, Sharon Nahari, follows the line of defense that the agents “acted in accordance with legal instructions when they had no other option”, as they felt that their lives “were in danger and opened fire”, according to Ynet.
In the video, two men are seen leaving a building in Jenin, in the north of the West Bank, which looks like a warehouse and who are on their knees with their hands behind their heads, surrounded by men in uniform pointing their weapons at them.
Further on, several shots are heard and the detainees are seen, who did not appear to be offering any resistance, motionless on the ground.
The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem identified the victims as Yusef Asasah, 39, and al-Muntaser Belah Abdalah, 26.
The Israeli military confirmed in a statement on Thursday that it was investigating the incident with the two Palestinian men, who they claim belonged to a “terrorist network”.
According to the army, an operation was carried out that day in Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, during which its troops surrounded a building where “wanted individuals” were located and “initiated a surrender procedure”.
The statement further reported that, after they left, “shots were fired at the suspects,” adding that the incident was under investigation.
The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the Border Guard agents involved justified that the Palestinian victims did not follow their instructions.
The Minister of National Security, the ultranationalist Itamar Ben Gvir, today criticized the interrogation of the alleged perpetrators of the executions, considering it a “distorted procedure” against those who fight “against enemies and murderers”.
In a statement, the director of B’Tselem, Yuli Novak, lamented that in Israel there is “no mechanism to prevent the murder of Palestinians or to prosecute those responsible”, urging the international community “to end impunity and demand accountability”.
The Palestinian Authority, in turn, announced on Thursday the death of two men, aged 26 and 37, victims of Israeli fire in Jenin, having also shared the content of the video.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns the heinous crime of summary execution perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army”, accused Palestinian diplomats.
This case, the ministry added, constitutes “a documented and complete war crime, and a flagrant violation of all laws, international conventions, norms and human values.”
The Islamist group Hamas, which has managed the Gaza Strip since 2007, also condemned the episode, which it says corresponds to “total contempt for Palestinian blood”, in violation of all laws and humanitarian standards.
“The cold-blooded execution of two young unarmed Palestinians in Jenin by the occupation forces, despite having left their home and posing no threat, once again exposes the criminal mentality that governs the occupation’s behavior,” Hamas accused, referring to Israel.
Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2023, the West Bank has been experiencing an escalation of violence associated with the expansion of the Israeli occupation and aggressions against the Palestinian population and destruction of property.
According to United Nations data, more than a thousand Palestinians have died in the West Bank since October 7, 2023 and mid-November this year in attacks attributed to the army and Jewish settlers.
October saw more settler attacks in the West Bank (264) than any other month since data collection in 2006, coinciding with raids by violent Jewish residents in the territory’s olive groves during the last olive harvest campaign.