Footage of Israeli soldiers killing Palestinians shows peace is as far away as ever

The shooting of two unarmed men represents a surge in violence by Israeli troops and settlers

- Bel Trew

The footage of Israeli security forces apparently summarily executing two Palestinians is damning.

In a short clip, first broadcast on Egyptian TV, two Palestinian men, apparently unarmed, emerge from a partially destroyed building with their hands above their heads. Several soldiers order them to lie down.

The soldiers then open fire at close range and shoot them dead. This happened on Thursday afternoon during an Israeli military and border police raid on Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The two men were named as Yusef 'Asa'sah, 39, and al-Muntaser bel-lah 'Abdallah, 26, by the Israeli rights group B'Tselem, who said the two were surrendering and apparently posed no threat.

The Israeli military, in a statement, claimed that the individuals were “wanted” and were affiliated with a “terror network” whose name they did not disclose.

“Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects,” the military wrote, adding that the “incident is under review by the commanders on the ground”.

Such a brazen killing caught on camera prompted Israeli public broadcaster Kan to report that even the Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir had ordered an “expedited investigation” into the incident.

Kan also reported that the soldiers had said they were following orders. So it seems this is not an isolated incident - nor likely to have been an operational “mistake”.

It is some of the starkest and clearest footage showing a surge in violence and rampant violations of international law committed by Israeli forces. This violence is something that respected Israeli, Palestinian and international rights groups have been documenting, and warning about, since the war in Gaza erupted in October 2023.