The Israeli army and police said Thursday they were reviewing an incident in the occupied West Bank in which two Palestinians were shot after apparently surrendering to Israeli forces.
The Palestinian Authority said two men aged 26 and 37 were killed by Israeli fire, and condemned the incident in Jenin as a "war crime" and a "brutal" summary execution.
Videos circulating on social media and broadcast by television channels -- including Israeli ones -- show two men advancing toward Israeli forces with their hands raised before shots ring out and the men collapse to the ground.
AFP filmed part of the incident.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir swiftly backed the forces who opened fire, saying: "terrorists must die!"
Jenin is in the north of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and police said they attempted to apprehend "wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces".
"The forces entered the area, enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited.
"Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.
"The incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies."
- 'Brutal field execution' -
The Palestinian Authority's health ministry named the two men killed as Yussef Ali Asa'sa, 37, and 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Billah Mahmud Abdullah.
They "were shot dead by Israeli forces in the Jabal Abu Dhahir area in the city of Jenin", the ministry said, adding that their bodies were being held by Israeli forces.
The foreign ministry in Ramallah said it "strongly condemns the brutal field execution carried out by the Israeli occupation army against two Palestinian youths", calling it a "deliberate Israeli war crime".
It urged the international community to take "immediate action to stop the Israeli killing machine, deter these crimes, and impose urgent international protection mechanisms for the Palestinian people".
The Palestinian militant group Hamas called it a "cold-blooded execution of two unarmed Palestinian youths".
Meanwhile, Ben Gvir offered his total backing to the Israeli forces involved.
"I fully support the border guard members and Israeli army soldiers who shot at wanted terrorists who emerged from a building in Jenin," he said on X.
"The forces acted exactly as expected of them -- terrorists must die!"
Violence in the West Bank has soared since Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
It has not ceased despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas coming into effect last month.
