Propagandists Share Biased Commentary on IOF’s Summary Executions of Two Palestinians in Jenin

Israeli occupation forces recently shot and killed two Palestinian men in Jenin, despite video footage showing them surrendering. Although the incident constitutes a blatant violation of human rights, Israeli accounts deflected responsibility and falsely claimed that the men were attempting to attack the soldiers.

Israeli Forces Executed Two Men After Surrendering in Jenin

Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian men in Jenin on Thursday. Verified footage circulated online purports to show the summary execution after the two men surrendered.

Journalists in Jenin reported that the men raised their shirts to show they were unarmed before soldiers ordered them back inside the building where they had been trapped. An Al Jazeera correspondent said the troops then opened fire, killing them instantly.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the victims as 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Billah Abdullah and 37-year-old Youssef Asasa.

The Israeli military said its forces had been pursuing suspects “affiliated with a terror network” and claimed they initiated a “surrender procedure” lasting several hours. The military said troops fired at the men after they exited the building and that the incident is under review.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the killings as “heinous extrajudicial executions” and a “deliberate Israeli war crime,” calling on the international community to intervene and halt what it described as an ongoing pattern of unlawful killings.

Pro-Israel Accounts Claim Two Palestinians Killed in Jenin Posed Threat to Soldiers

After Israeli troops killed two Palestinian men in Jenin, pro-Israel social media accounts circulated claims that the men posed an imminent threat to the soldiers who shot them.

The propaganda account “Gazawood,” known for posting Israeli-biased commentary, shared the footage on November 27 and alleged that one of the men appeared to reach toward his belt seconds before being shot.

The account alleged that lowering one’s hands while surrendering should be treated as a threat requiring soldiers to open fire. The post's caption reads: “In the extended, less-edited high-quality version, you can clearly see the terrorist reaching toward his belt moments before the soldiers — who perceived an imminent threat — opened fire and neutralized him.”

Multiple followers reposted the same footage with identical claims, attempting to deflect Israeli responsibility for the extrajudicial killing.

Israeli Troops Assaulted Two Palestinians Before Executing Them

The longer version of the video shows both men raising their hands and lifting their shirts to show they were unarmed as they attempted to surrender.

Misbar’s investigative team reviewed the original footage and found that an Israeli soldier struck one of the men in the abdomen, which explains why he later placed his hand on his stomach.

In addition, propaganda pushers also omitted the rest of the footage, which shows an Israeli digger bringing down part of the building on top of the men’s bodies after they were assassinated.

The U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Friday that it is “appalled” by what it described as the “brazen killing” of two Palestinian men by Israeli border police in Jenin, calling the incident “an apparent summary execution.”

OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva that although Israeli authorities announced an internal review, comments from a senior official appeared to absolve security forces of responsibility, raising “serious concerns” about the credibility of any investigation that is not fully independent of the government.

He said killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces and settlers have sharply increased, with little to no accountability. OHCHR reported that 1,030 Palestinians, including 233 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli occupation forces and settlers since October 7, 2023.

“Impunity for Israel’s security forces’ unlawful use of force, and ever-growing settler violence, must end,” Laurence said.

Furthermore, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for independent and effective investigations, and for those responsible to be held fully accountable.

Extremist Ben-Gvir Promotes Officer Whose Unit Killed Surrendering Palestinians

Haaretz reported on Sunday that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir informed the commander of the Border Police’s undercover Judea and Samaria unit that he would be promoted to deputy superintendent.

Haaretz cited sources saying that Ben-Gvir visited the unit’s base on Friday to notify its commander, Lieutenant Colonel K., of the promotion. At the same time, three officers from the unit were being questioned at the IOF headquarters in Nazareth on suspicion of unlawfully killing the two Palestinians.

Ben-Gvir publicly expressed support for the officers, writing that he “provides full backing to Border Police members and IDF fighters who shot at wanted terrorists who came out of a building in Jenin,” adding, “The fighters acted exactly as expected of them — terrorists must die.”

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