In a new crime of willful killing and extrajudicial execution, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed on Thursday evening two Palestinians after directly opening fire at them although they had surrendered and raised their hands after besieging them in a house where they had taken shelter in Jenin, north of the West Bank. The crime was publicly endorsed by one of the Israeli ministers and is an extension of hundreds of similar crimes committed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This underscores that such crimes, including willful killings and extrajudicial executions, are committed upon a decision from Israel’s top military and political echelons.
According to information collected by our field researcher, at around 13:00 on Thursday, 27 November 2025, an Israeli special unit infiltrated Abu Duhair Mount area in Jenin using two civilian vehicles, one of which was a grey Land Cruiser carrying carpets for disguise. The force arrived at the house of Kifah Zidan’s family located in a high mountainous area overlooking parts of the city, with a commercial warehouse below the house. Members of the special force stepped out of the vehicles, surrounded the house, and raided many nearby houses. Minutes later, the IOF sent additional military backups, including dozens of military vehicles, to the scene, while many other vehicles were deployed at the entrances to Abu Duhair Mount area, and Israeli warplanes hovered above the area. At approximately 15:30, the IOF began opening heavy fire on the commercial warehouse as a military bulldozer advanced towards it. The bulldozer then struck the warehouse’s metal door with its scoop, and two unarmed young men, one wearing a black cap, went out of the warehouse amid the presence of dozens of Israeli soldiers in the area. The two young men raised their upper clothing to signal that they were unarmed. Shortly afterward, one of the soldiers attacked and kicked them in a scene captured by journalists’ cameras in the vicinity. The IOF then ordered the young men to return to the warehouse, and while they complied and retreated about one and a half meters, the IOF opened heavy fire on them, killing both. After that, the bulldozer completely destroyed the warehouse door, causing it to fall on the bodies of the two young men. Shortly afterward, Israeli soldiers transported the bodies to a military vehicle stationed in the area, before the IOF withdrew at around 18:00. At approximately 19:45, the Palestinian Civil Affairs Office informed the Palestinian Ministry of Health that those killed were identified as: al-Montaser Bellah Mahmoud ‘Abdullah (26), from Jenin refugee camp, and Yoused ‘Asas’sah (37).
A footage released by Palestinian platforms showed two unarmed individuals emerging from a building besieged by armed Israeli forces in Jenin, raising their shirts and hands in a gesture of surrender. The footage then shows the IOF ordering the two men to return inside the building before opening fire on them at close range.
Following the incident, a joint statement by the IOF and Israeli police reported that the Border Police carried out an operation in Jenin to arrest two wanted individuals suspected of involvement in throwing explosive devices and firing at security forces, and of being affiliated with an armed group in the area. The statement added that the IOF encircled the building and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. After they exited the building, shots were fired at the wanted persons. The statement clarified that the incident is under review by the commanders on the ground and will be transferred to the relevant authorities for examination.1
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) considers this statement to be of no real value, as decades of monitoring hundreds of cases before Israeli judicial and military bodies have shown that such investigations serve as a tool to protect perpetrators of violations and provide legal cover for war crimes, without any genuine accountability or prosecution.
The futility of this step is evident in the statements of Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who publicly endorsed the soldiers who executed the two young men in Jenin, claiming they acted as expected. This highlights the existence of an official Israeli policy that encourages violations and perpetuates a culture of impunity within the Israeli security services.
Since the onset of the year, the IOF have killed 222 Palestinians, including 41 children and 5 women, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among those killed were dozens as part of crimes of willful killings and extra-judicial executions. Additionally, thousands of Palestinians have been deliberately killed in summary executions during the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip over the past two years.
PCHR calls on the international community to provide immediate international protection for Palestinian civilians in the West Bank to urgently act to end the IOF’s open-fire policy, which has become a daily practice in their treatment of Palestinians.
PCHR also calls for an end to the policy of impunity that encourages the recurrence of violations and for ensuring accountability of those responsible for these crimes before international justice. PCHR affirms that the ongoing international silence over these crimes constitutes indirect complicity that emboldens the Israeli occupation authorities to commit further crimes against Palestinian civilians.
