Israeli forces kill Palestinian men in West Bank after they appear to surrender : NPR

JERUSALEM — Israeli forces killed a Palestinian couple in the occupied West Bank on Thursday after they appeared to surrender to troops, prompting Palestinian accusations that the men were executed in “cold blood.” The Israeli military said it was investigating.

The killings, captured in video shown on two Arab television channels, came as Israel continued its latest offensive in the West Bank, where the army has stepped up its activities over the past two years. Israel says it is cracking down on militants, but Palestinians and rights groups accuse Israel of using excessive force and say dozens of unarmed civilians have been killed.

Israel is fighting on multiple fronts as a shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip moves forward. On Thursday, Israel launched another round of airstrikes against suspected Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Ongoing conflicts in the region have heightened fears that unrest could escalate and undermine the fragile truce in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian-American teenager held in Israeli custody for nine months was also released Thursday night. The 16-year-old had lost noticeable weight and was hugged by his tearful family.

Israeli forces accused of executing Palestinians in West Bank

The Israeli military and national police said they were opening an investigation into the deaths Thursday of two men shot dead by members of the Border Police, a special unit that often operates alongside the Israeli military.

In the video, shown on Palestinian television without sound, two men emerge from a garage with their hands in the air and their shirts lifted to show they are not carrying explosives. One of the police officers orders them to lie on the ground and kicks them. They are then ordered to return to the garage. In a video shown by Egyptian TV channel Al-Ghad, the men are ordered to return to the entrance to the garage. As they lie on the ground and are surrounded by troops, gunshots are heard and the men fall, seemingly lifeless. At least one soldier is seen firing his weapon.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the two men were wanted militants in the northern city of Jenin who threw explosives and opened fire on troops.

After the men surrendered and left the building, “fire was fired at the suspects,” the report said. The statement said the incident was “under review” and would be referred “to the appropriate professional authorities.”

Palestinians and rights groups say such investigations produce few results and Israeli troops are rarely prosecuted.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation's police force, praised Israeli forces, saying they acted “exactly as expected – the terrorists must die!”

In Ramallah, the Palestinian Prime Minister's Office accused Israel of “cold-blooded execution” of the men. He called the shooting “an outright extrajudicial killing in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”

Palestinian authorities identified the men as Al-Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Assa, 37, and said Israel took their bodies.

The incident was reminiscent of the case of Elor Azaria, a soldier convicted of manslaughter in 2017 for fatally shooting an already wounded Palestinian attacker. The incident deeply divided the nation, with nationalist politicians coming to the soldier's defense. Azaria was released early from prison after serving a nine-month sentence.

Escalation in the West Bank

The shooting is part of a larger operation in the northeastern West Bank region. Israeli troops have detained more than 100 people in the city of Tubas since Tuesday, according to Abdullah al-Zaghari, a spokesman for the rights group Palestinian Prisoners' Club.

The military said the operation was a response to “attempts to create terrorist strongholds and build terrorist infrastructure in the area.” On November 19, Palestinian assailants stabbed an Israeli to death and wounded three others at a West Bank intersection before being shot dead by soldiers.

The Israeli military has stepped up military operations in the West Bank following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

The latest operation comes amid a growing wave of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Israeli leaders have downplayed the settler attacks as the work of a small minority. But Palestinians say attacks occur frequently, often in close proximity to Israeli troops, and settlers are rarely punished.

Attacks on Lebanon on the eve of the Pope's visit

On Thursday, the Israeli air force carried out another series of strikes on parts of southern Lebanon. Israel says its ongoing strikes are aimed at preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding after a devastating war last year.

But the United Nations said Tuesday that Israel has killed at least 127 civilians, including children, in its strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect a year ago. The situation escalated earlier this week following a rare strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut that killed Hezbollah's chief of staff.

On Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam criticized Hezbollah for failing to disarm, a rare rebuke of the group, saying the Iranian-backed militants had failed to deter Israeli airstrikes, protect the Lebanese people or even protect the lives of their own leaders.

Pope Leo XIV plans to visit the country on Sunday, where he will meet with political and religious leaders of the crisis-hit country.

American teenager released from Israeli prison

Mohammed Ibrahim, an American teenager held in Israeli custody for nine months, was released Thursday evening and immediately hospitalized, his uncle told the AP.

Noticeably thin, with a shaved head and still wearing a gray jumpsuit, Ibrahim wiped away tears as family members hugged him shortly after his release in a video taken by the family. His father, Zaher Ibrahim, kissed his son and cried.

“He is thin and pale, his eyes are sunken and he still has signs of scabies,” said Zeyad Kadour, an uncle.

The teenager was visiting family in the West Bank with his parents when he was arrested overnight at his family's home for allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli settlers in the West Bank, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and several members of Congress. In an affidavit, Mohammed said he admitted to throwing rocks only after investigators threatened to beat him.

His family and lawyers said he was kept in poor conditions in prison, developed scabies and lost weight.