The United Nations human rights office expressed outrage Friday over video footage showing Israeli border police killing two Palestinian men in Jenin, occupied West Bank, labeling it an "apparent summary execution" after they emerged from a garage with hands raised and shirts lifted to show they were unarmed. The men, identified as Yussef Ali Asa'sa (37) and Al-Muntasir Billah Mahmud Abdullah (26), were ordered to lie down, kicked, then shot at point-blank range while surrounded by soldiers before being directed back inside.
Israel's military claimed the men were wanted Jenin militants who had thrown explosives and fired at troops, stating fire was directed after they exited a structure; an investigation was announced, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voicing full support for the officers. The Palestinian Authority called it a "war crime" and extrajudicial killing, amid over 1,000 Palestinian deaths by Israeli forces in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 2023, 223 children with 44 Israelis killed in attacks.
Rights groups highlighted the incident as emblematic of Israel's "systematic policy of extrajudicial killings" and "total impunity," occurring during escalated operations in Jenin and Tubas where over 100 Palestinians were detained.