JENIN, (PIC)
The Hamas Movement issued a strong statement on Thursday condemning the Israeli occupation forces for the cold-blooded execution of two unarmed Palestinian youths in the city of Jenin. The young men were reportedly shot after leaving a besieged home, posing no threat at the time.
Hamas described the act as a clear reflection of the “criminal mindset” guiding the behavior of Israeli forces, accusing them of continuing to shed Palestinian blood with impunity and in defiance of international norms and laws.
The Movement mourned the two martyrs and stated that their killing was “not an isolated incident, but a continuation of a systematic campaign of extermination” targeting Palestinians in the West Bank, saying that it was part of a broader effort to impose annexation and forced displacement.
Hamas further asserted that the intensifying military campaign, especially in northern West Bank governorates, proves that “resistance remains the only natural and legitimate response” to the Israeli occupation’s “crimes and ongoing aggression.”
According to local sources, the Israeli army stormed Jenin on Thursday, where an undercover unit surrounded a house in the Jabal Abu Dhuhair neighborhood. The soldiers detained and beat one youth inside.
As the two young men, identified as Youssef Darwish and Montaser Wardeh, exited the house in an attempt to surrender, Israeli forces reportedly forced them back inside and then opened fire at close range, killing them instantly.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the General Authority of Civil Affairs reported the killing of Montasir Billah Mahmoud Qassem Abdullah, 26, and Youssef Ali Youssef Asasa, 37, whose bodies were seized by Israeli forces in the Abu Thahir mountain area.
Local sources said an Israeli special unit infiltrated the Jabal Abu Thahir neighborhood, surrounded a home, and physically assaulted one of the young men inside.
During the siege, the two young men attempted to surrender, but Israeli soldiers forced them back inside the house and then shot them directly, killing them instantly.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the shooting took place at very close range, in a manner that indicated a deliberate extrajudicial execution with no exchange of fire or threat posed by the victims.
Later, the Israeli army admitted to the killings and claimed it had launched an investigation into the conduct of the soldiers, noting that the two victims had been in the process of surrendering, a statement seen as an attempt to mitigate backlash.
Earlier in the day, another Palestinian was reported killed during the military siege of a home in the same area of Jenin.
