Habiba Hamisi, 28th November 2025Contains some violen

An Israeli military raid in the city of Jenin resulted in the deaths of two Palestinian men, prompting strong criticism from the Palestinian Authority, which denounced the incident as a war crime and accused Israeli forces of carrying out on-the-spot executions.

Israeli police and the military said the two men were wanted and linked to militant activity, and that the circumstances of the shooting are under review. Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, publicly praised the security personnel involved, asserting that “terrorists must die.”

Footage from the scene shows the two Palestinians emerging from a building with their hands raised, surrounded by Israeli border police. The men kneel, and one lifts his shirt to show he is unarmed. After briefly retreating back into the structure, the officers fire on them, killing both.

A joint statement from Israel’s army and police said their forces were trying to arrest individuals suspected of attacks involving explosives and gunfire. They said the building had been encircled for hours in an effort to persuade the suspects to surrender. According to the statement, after engineering tools were used to breach the structure, the two men came out, and shots were then fired at them.

The operation in Jenin is part of a broader Israeli campaign across northern West Bank cities aimed at armed Palestinian groups Israel accuses of conducting deadly assaults on soldiers and settlers. Another Israeli operation was launched in Tubas earlier in the week.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated sharply since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza. According to UN figures, more than 1,000 Palestinians—both civilians and members of armed groups—have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since then. Israeli authorities report that at least 44 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during military operations in the same timeframe.