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Video from Jenin in the occupied West Bank shows Israeli border police shooting and killing two Palestinian men who had emerged from a building with their hands raised and appeared to surrender during an ongoing military raid, drawing widespread accusations of a war crime.
Two men, Mahmoud Qassem Abdallah, 26, and Youssef Asasa, 37, were identified by Israeli forces in a tense encounter captured on video. The footage shows them surrounded by armed officers, kneeling and raising their shirts to indicate they were unarmed. Despite this, they were directed back toward a building and subsequently shot. The video, shared by the organization Breaking the Silence, accused Israeli forces of executing “two Palestinians in Jenin after surrendering,” branding such incidents as routine.
The Palestinian Authority has denounced the shootings, labeling them as a “deliberate Israeli war crime” and an “extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law.” They stated that Israeli forces “executed two young Palestinians in Jenin in cold blood, even after they had surrendered.”
In contrast, Israeli officials provided a different narrative. A joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces and police described the men as “wanted individuals” involved in terrorist activities, including throwing explosives and shooting at security forces. They claimed that the building was secured, and a “surrender procedure” was conducted over several hours before the men emerged.
According to a summary by ZeroHedge based on Israeli Army Radio reports, officers at the scene later asserted uncertainty regarding whether the men were armed or carrying explosives. They claimed the men “acted contrary to the instructions they received,” with one allegedly attempting to reenter the building and the other following, which led to the shooting.
Haaretz journalist Nir Hasson dismissed these explanations, asserting, “there is no universe in which this is not murder.” Another source cited by Haaretz suggested one of the men made a “suspicious movement” while on the ground, which allegedly triggered the gunfire.
The 1st is the BBC breakdown. The 2nd vid is the full video.
The 2nd video shows after they told them to go back inside is when they shot them,… pic.twitter.com/8ird7uKpbc
— WayneTech SPFX®️ (@WayneTechSPFX) November 28, 2025
Israeli officials offered a different account, with a joint Israel Defense Forces and police statement claiming the pair were “wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces,” and that troops had “enclosed the structure” and conducted a “surrender procedure that lasted several hours” before the men exited.
According to ZeroHedge’s summary of Israeli Army Radio reporting, officers at the scene later insisted they did not know if the men were carrying weapons or explosives and said the two “acted contrary to the instructions they received,” alleging one tried to reenter the building and the other followed, prompting the shooting.
Haaretz correspondent Nir Hasson sharply rejected that justification, saying “there is no universe in which this is not murder,” while another source cited by the outlet claimed one of the men made a “suspicious movement” while on the ground before fighters opened fire.
Israeli colonial soldiers murdering two unarmed Palestinians at point blank range after they surrendered. pic.twitter.com/x4TK5uPvib
— Alexi Murdoch 🦋🌘 (@aleximurdoch) November 28, 2025
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly backed the shooters, writing that he was “lending full backing to the border police and IDF troops” and declaring that the forces “acted precisely as is expected of them – terrorists have to die.” IDF chief of staff Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered an internal investigation, and the military says the incident is “under review” and will be “transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”
The footage has triggered outrage far beyond Palestinian circles. Commenting on the clip, broadcaster Piers Morgan wrote that “this is a war crime, and makes a mockery of those who claim the IDF is ‘the most moral army in the world.’ Moral armies don’t execute people when they surrender like this.”
The Jenin raid comes amid a months-long Israeli campaign across northern West Bank cities that Israel says targets armed groups behind attacks on soldiers and settlers, part of a surge of West Bank violence since Hamas’s October 2023 assault and the subsequent war in Gaza.