The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) extrajudicial execution crime (assassination) that killed three Palestinians dead, including a child, after their vehicle was directly shot yesterday evening in Jenin, north of the West Bank.
According to information collected by PCHR’s fieldworker, at around 17:15 on Sunday, 06 August 2023, an Israeli Special Military Force sneaked via a Volkswagen Caddy car and a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV with Palestinian registration plates into a road connecting Bir al-Basha village with Arraba village near ‘Arraba Intersection in Jenin.
Suddenly, the two vehicles intercepted a grey Peugeot vehicle with a yellow Israeli registration plate and many Israeli soldiers stepped out of their vehicles and heavily opened fire at the targeted vehicle from behind, forcing it to stop completely.
Minutes later, IOF’s backups arrived at the scene and completely closed the road from both directions, blocking the traffic.
Afterwards, the Israeli soldiers fired teargas canisters in the area, and after 15 minutes, IOF started withdrawing from the area and towed the targeted vehicle that was hit by many bullets with the targeted persons still inside.
After IOF withdrew, many Palestinians gathered in the scene and saw brain tissues scattered on the ground.
Later, it turned out that three Palestinians were killed inside the vehicle and identified as: Nayef Jihad Nayef Abu Sweiss (27), Khaleel Nizar Nemer Abu Na’asah (21), both ftom Jenin refugee camp and members of Jenin Brigade, and Baraa Ahmad Al-Qerem (16), from Jalkamous village, south of Jenin.
IOF is still holding their bodies.
Later, IOF announced, in a joint statement by the Israeli forces, the Shin Bet, and the Israel Border Police, that a joint operation was carried out after spotting a “terrorist cell” in a car in Jenin refugee camp, claiming that they were on their way to carry out a shooting attack.
The statement added that the head of the cell, Nayef Abu Sweiss was killed as well as two persons accompanying him.
It is noteworthy that extrajudicial killings are carried out pursuant to IOF’s intelligence, and those wanted are killed instantly rather than being arrested.
By this, IOF act as both judge and executioner of a death sentence at the same time. Palestinian civilians often pay the price of such crimes, which are committed by IOF in disregard for non-target civilians’ lives.
According to PCHR’s documentation, at least 1000 Palestinians have been killed in IOF’s assassination crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the last two decades, 80% of them has been nontarget civilians and 15% were children.
