The killing of two Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank while seemingly surrendering to Israeli forces was an "apparent summary execution,” the United Nations said Friday.
"We are appalled at the brazen killing by Israeli border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in yet another apparent summary execution," UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva, calling for "independent, prompt and effective investigations into the killings of Palestinians.”
The two men killed on Thursday appeared to be surrendering and unarmed during a raid, Palestine TV news footage showed.
In a statement, the Israeli military said the two men were wanted militants in Jenin who had thrown explosives and opened fire at troops.
It said that after the men surrendered and exited a building, “fire was directed toward the suspects.” It said the incident was “under review” and would be referred “to the relevant professional bodies.”
Palestinians and human rights groups say such investigations yield few results, and Israeli troops are rarely prosecuted.
Palestinian authorities identified the men as Al-Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Asasa, 37, and said Israel had taken away their bodies.
In Ramallah, the Palestinian prime minister’s office accused Israel of executing the men “in cold blood.” It called the shooting “an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
