RAMALLAH (Reuters) – Palestinian militants in the West Bank said they had killed two men accused of collaborating with Israeli authorities and hung their bodies up as a warning, underlining growing fears of increased radicalisation as the war in Gaza continues.
A statement from the Tulkarm Brigades, a group based in the West Bank city of Tulkarm that is associated with the Fatah faction, said there was “no immunity for any informant or traitor”.
“We are on the lookout for him and we will hold him accountable,” it said, referring to any such person.
Footage shared on the Tulkarm Brigades Telegram channel showed a man apparently confessing to working with Israeli security services and providing details of his activities.
Other footage, which could not be verified by Reuters, showed two dead bodies and bodies hung from a wall and an electricity pylon in front of angry crowds.
The Tulkarm Brigades statement said anyone who had been working with Israeli security services had until Dec. 5 to come forward and repent.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights, a Palestinian rights group, issued a statement criticising extrajudicial killings but said Israeli authorities were responsible for recruiting Palestinian agents.
There was no comment from the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governance in the West Bank, and no immediate comment from the Israeli security services.
The latest incident provided further signs of the growing tension in the occupied West Bank, which has seen a surge in violence since the start of the Gaza war as Israeli military raids have intensified.
Public execution-style killings of Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel have been rare in recent years but they were more common during the years of the Second Intifada uprising two decades ago.
The West Bank had already been experiencing the highest levels of unrest in decades during the 18 months preceding the attack, but the assault on Israel by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7 and the subsequent bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces has lifted the pressure to new levels.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers over the past six weeks and security forces have carried out thousands of arrests, with repeated confrontations between troops and Palestinian protesters.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
