The Jenin Footage: A Grisly Microcosm of the West Bank’s Unraveling

Disturbing video evidence from a military raid in Jenin, appearing to show two surrendered Palestinian men being shot by Israeli forces after a prolonged standoff, has ignited accusations of an outright execution and a blatant war crime from the Palestinian Authority, while the Israeli military has merely acknowledged returning fire without explaining the lethal use of force against compliant individuals, an incident that starkly encapsulates the rapid unraveling of order in the West Bank where escalating raids, mass displacement, and dehumanizing rhetoric from senior Israeli officials have created an environment of near-total impunity and a collapse of international legal norms.

The Jenin Footage: A Grisly Microcosm of the West Bank’s Unraveling

Introduction: The Chilling Unease of a Grainy Video 

In the digital age, conflict is often documented in real-time, but rarely do we see a sequence of events so stark, so methodical, that it silences the noise of propaganda and demands a raw, unflinching reckoning. The video that emerged from the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank this week is one such moment. It is not a blurry missile strike in the distance, nor a chaotic firefight. It is a slow, deliberate, and deeply troubling tableau that appears to show two Palestinian men being executed by Israeli forces after they had surrendered. 

This incident is more than just another tragic headline in the relentless cycle of Israeli-Palestinian violence. It is a grim microcosm—a perfect, horrifying storm of militant activity, heavy-handed military tactics, dehumanizing rhetoric, and a collapsing framework of international law. To understand what happened in that Jenin alleyway is to understand the profound and dangerous shift currently underway across the West Bank. 

The Incident: A Minute-by-Minute Unraveling of the “Surrender Procedure” 

The story is pieced together from multiple video sources—Palestine TV, Al Ghad TV, and Reuters—creating a multi-angle record that is difficult to dismiss. 

• The Siege: The scene opens with Israeli military vehicles and soldiers, heavily armed, surrounding a building. The whir of a military bulldozer or engineering vehicle fills the air as it systematically breaks through a commercial-style roller door. This is a familiar scene in Jenin, a known stronghold of Palestinian militant groups, where the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conduct frequent, often lethal, “counter-terrorism” raids. 

• The Surrender: After what the IDF stated was a “surrender procedure that lasted several hours,” two men emerge from the damaged building. Their hands are raised high in the universal sign of surrender. They walk cautiously towards the soldiers, their postures screaming submission rather than threat. They then lie face-down on the ground as instructed. 

• The Escalation: At this point, the script of a standard military detention deviates. One of the soldiers approaches and kicks one of the prone men. Then, inexplicably, the two men are ordered to get up and move back toward the shattered doorway from which they came. 

• The Execution: It is at this moment that the situation turns fatal. As the men move back inside, shots ring out. The videos appear to show the soldiers firing at the two Palestinians at close range while they are within the confines of the building’s entrance, a space offering no cover or escape. They collapse instantly. 

• The Aftermath: The military vehicle then completes its work, collapsing the entire roller door onto the bodies, as if entombing them. Soldiers later move in to clear the scene, covering the corpses with blankets. The clinical, operational nature of this final act adds a layer of chilling bureaucracy to the violence. 

The Conflicting Narratives: “Terrorists” vs. “Executed Civilians” 

In the wake of the incident, the two sides presented diametrically opposed accounts, reflecting the deep chasm in perception that defines the conflict. 

The Palestinian Narrative: A War Crime The Palestinian Authority (PA) did not mince words. Its Government Communication Centre labeled the event “an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international law.” Ambassador Husam Zomlot called it a “summary execution” and a “war crime.” This language is intentional, framing the event not as a tragic mistake in a dangerous raid, but as a deliberate, unlawful act. 

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, which named the deceased as Yusef ‘Asa’sah, 39, and al-Muntaser bel-lah ‘Abdallah, 26, echoed this, stating they were “executed apparently while posing no threat to the forces.” For Palestinians and their advocates, the video is clear-cut evidence of a pattern of impunity, where the rules of engagement have been eroded by a political climate that dehumanizes them. 

The Israeli Narrative: A Counter-Terrorism Operation The official joint statement from the IDF and Israeli Police was terse and defensive. It acknowledged the raid was targeting individuals who had “carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces.” It confirmed a surrender procedure and then, crucially, stated: “Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.” 

This vague phrasing—”fire was directed”—avoids admitting to a summary execution but offers no alternative scenario that would justify the use of lethal force against surrendered, compliant individuals. More telling was the reaction of Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who celebrated the soldiers’ actions: “The fighters acted exactly as expected of them — terrorists must die!” This sentiment, from a senior government official, underscores the political environment in which these soldiers operate. 

The Legal and Moral Abyss: International Law in the Shadow of Occupation 

At the heart of this incident lies a fundamental question of international law, specifically the Laws of Armed Conflict and International Human Rights Law. 

• The Principle of Distinction: Combatants must be distinguished from civilians, and force must only be directed at military objectives. The two men, even if suspected militants, were hors de combat—outside the fight—the moment they surrendered and were visibly unarmed and compliant. 

• The Principle of Proportionality and Necessity: Lethal force can only be used when there is an immediate, concrete threat to life. The videos do not show the men making any sudden movements, reaching for weapons, or exhibiting explosives. The use of deadly force in this context appears, on its face, to be a disproportionate and unnecessary violation of these core principles. 

This incident is not happening in a legal vacuum, but in the context of a 57-year military occupation. The mechanisms meant to ensure accountability within the IDF—military police investigations—have long been criticized by human rights groups as ineffective, with a notoriously low rate of indictments for harm caused to Palestinians. When a government minister publicly applauds the killing, it signals to soldiers in the field that the political cost for excessive force is low, if it exists at all. 

The Bigger Picture: The West Bank’s Rapidly Deteriorating Reality 

To view the Jenin incident in isolation is to miss the forest for the trees. Since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in Gaza, the West Bank has been simmering on the brink of a major explosion. 

• Escalating Violence: Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since October—a staggering number that far outpaces previous years. Raids, like the one in Jenin, have become more frequent, intense, and destructive. 

• Mass Displacement: The article mentions 32,000 people displaced from refugee camps like Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams due to recent Israeli operations. This represents a strategy of mass disruption and collective punishment that is crippling communities and fueling desperation. 

• The Crisis of the PA: The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, is widely seen as corrupt, ineffective, and illegitimate by its own people. Its security coordination with Israel is deeply unpopular. This erosion of authority creates a power vacuum that more radical elements are eager to fill. 

The “dehumanisation of Palestinians” that B’Tselem’s Yuli Novak references is not just rhetorical; it has tangible consequences. It creates an environment where a soldier can see a surrendered man not as a human being entitled to rights, but as a “terrorist” who “must die,” and where the international community’s expressions of “concern” have failed to alter the devastating trajectory on the ground. 

Conclusion: An Image That Won’t Be Buried 

The roller door that was collapsed onto the bodies of Yusef ‘Asa’sah and al-Muntaser bel-lah ‘Abdallah was a physical attempt to cover up what had occurred. But in our hyper-connected world, the video evidence ensures their deaths will not be so easily buried. This footage is a Rorschach test—for some, it is proof of Palestinian perfidy; for others, undeniable evidence of Israeli war crimes. 

But beyond the immediate blame game, it serves as a crucial, bloody data point. It illustrates the near-total collapse of adherence to international law in the occupied territories, the empowering of extreme political ideologies within the Israeli government, and the desperate, boiling-over reality of life for millions of Palestinians. The Jenin footage is not an anomaly; it is a logical, if horrifying, outcome of a system that has been broken for decades and is now shattering in plain sight. Until the underlying dynamics of occupation, impunity, and political failure are addressed, the world should brace itself for more such videos to emerge from the darkness.