Israeli Forces Face Accusations of Executing Surrendering Palestinians in West Bank
Amid escalating tensions and a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, new videos have sparked outrage and accusations of extrajudicial killings against Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, November 27, 2025, after the men appeared to surrender, igniting Palestinian claims of a deliberate “execution in cold blood.” The Israeli military stated it has launched an investigation into the incident, which occurred during a military operation in Jenin. The killings, captured on video and broadcast by Arab news outlets, come as Israel continues a heightened military presence in the West Bank, a campaign that has drawn criticism from Palestinians and human rights organizations alleging excessive force and civilian casualties.
Israel is currently navigating multiple conflict zones as a tenuous ceasefire holds in Gaza. On Thursday, Israeli airstrikes targeted suspected Hezbollah locations in southern Lebanon, raising concerns that regional instability could jeopardize the fragile truce. Simultaneously, a Palestinian-American teenager, held in Israeli detention for nine months, was released, emerging visibly weakened and reunited with his family.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two Palestinian men are under intense scrutiny. Both the Israeli military and national police have announced investigations into the incident, which involved members of the border police, a specialized unit frequently operating alongside the military. Videos circulating on Palestine TV and Egypt’s Al-Ghad station depict the men emerging from a garage with their hands raised and shirts lifted to demonstrate they were unarmed. They were ordered to the ground and reportedly kicked by an officer before being directed back into the garage. The Al-Ghad video shows the men on the ground, surrounded by troops, when gunfire erupts, and they collapse. At least one soldier is visibly firing his weapon in the footage.
In a statement, the Israeli military asserted that the two men were “wanted militants” from Jenin who had previously engaged troops with explosives and gunfire. The statement claims that after surrendering and exiting a building, “fire was directed toward the suspects,” and that the incident is “under review” and will be examined by relevant authorities. However, Palestinians and human rights groups express skepticism about the impartiality of such investigations, citing a historical pattern of limited accountability for Israeli troops.
The incident has drawn strong reactions from political figures. Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, praised the forces involved, stating they had acted “exactly as they are expected to — terrorists must die!” Conversely, the Palestinian prime minister’s office condemned the shooting as an “outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law,” accusing Israel of executing the men “in cold blood.” The Palestinian authorities have identified the deceased as Al-Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Asasa, 37, and reported that their bodies have been withheld by Israel.
The events echo the controversial 2017 case of Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker. That case sparked deep divisions within Israel, with nationalistic politicians defending Azaria, who ultimately received a reduced prison sentence.
Escalation of West Bank Operations
The shooting is part of a broader Israeli military operation in the northeastern West Bank. According to Abdullah al-Zaghari, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group, more than 100 individuals have been detained in the town of Tubas since Tuesday. The military has justified the operation as a response to “attempts to establish terrorist strongholds and construction of terror infrastructures in the area.” A recent incident on November 19 saw Palestinian attackers fatally stab an Israeli and wound three others at a West Bank intersection before being killed by troops.
Israel has significantly increased its military operations in the West Bank since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that initiated the war in Gaza. This escalation coincides with a reported rise in violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. While Israeli leaders have downplayed these attacks as isolated incidents, Palestinians contend they are frequent, often occurring near Israeli troops, and rarely result in punishment for the perpetrators.
Regional Tensions and Diplomatic Efforts
Alongside the West Bank operation, Israel’s air force conducted further strikes on suspected Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon on Thursday. Israel maintains these strikes are intended to prevent Hezbollah from rearming following last year’s conflict. However, the United Nations reported on Tuesday that Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 127 civilians, including children, since the ceasefire one year ago. Tensions escalated earlier this week with a rare Israeli strike in Beirut, resulting in the death of Hezbollah’s chief of staff.
Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Lebanon on Sunday, where he will meet with the nation’s political and religious leaders amid the ongoing crisis.
American Teen’s Release
Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American, was released from Israeli custody Thursday evening after nine months of detention. His uncle, Zeyad Kadur, described Ibrahim as “skinny and pale, his eyes are sunken in and he still has signs of scabies,” noting his visibly frail condition upon release. The teen was arrested while visiting family in the West Bank, accused of throwing rocks at Israeli settlers. Ibrahim, in an affidavit, alleged he confessed to the charges only after being threatened with physical violence by interrogators. His family and legal representatives reported he endured poor conditions, contracted scabies, and lost weight during his imprisonment.
The release of Ibrahim, alongside the ongoing investigation into the deaths in Jenin, underscores the complex and volatile situation in the region, where accusations of violence and human rights abuses continue to fuel the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.