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

Footage circulating captures two border police officers shooting the men dead at close range in the city of Jenin after they emerged from a building with their hands in the air.

The video, which was shown on two Arab TV channels, was described by Palestinians as being carried out in "cold blood."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the incident was under "review" but claimed the two men were terrorists who had earlier attacked its forces.

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Their bodies were detained by security forces and they were later named as Mahmoud Qassem Abdallah, 26, and Youssef Asasa, 37.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, said the killings were a "deliberate Israeli war crime."

According to a joint IDF and police statement, the pair were holed up in the building in an hours-long "surrender procedure."

The men exited a building before lifting their shirts and lying on the ground in apparent surrender.

The forces then appeared to direct the men back inside the building before opening fire at close range.

A Palestinian Authority spokesman said: "Israeli occupation forces executed two young Palestinians in Jenin in cold blood, even after they had turned themselves in.

"An outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law."

The IDF and police said the two men were "wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces."

A spokesperson said: "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."

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's security minister, said the troops "acted precisely as is expected of them."

Israeli Army Radio, which is operated by the IDF, reported that the two men were shot dead after disobeying instructions from border police personnel.

"When the terrorists came out, we began to carry out security checks on them," the officers were reported to have said.

They added: "We did not know if they were carrying weapons or explosives.

"We began instructing them what to do for their own safety but the terrorists acted contrary to the instructions they received.

"At a certain point, one of the terrorists decided to enter the building contrary to the instructions, and the second terrorist followed him, so both were shot."

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's hard-Right security minister, said the border police personnel had his support.

He said: "Lending full backing to the border police and IDF troops who shot at wanted terrorists who were coming out of a building in Jenin.

"The troops acted precisely as is expected of them – terrorists have to die."

It is unclear if a criminal investigation will be launched.