Palestinian militants have admitted to killing two men in the West Bank on Friday night after they were accused of collaborating with the Israeli authorities.
After being shot and killed in the street, the alleged "informants" were hung in the city of Tulkarem, as a warning to those reporting the activities of Palestinian militants to Israel.
After the two men were publicly executed, the Tulkarm Brigades, a proscribed terrorist organisation and an arm of Hamas in the West Bank, said that it would remain on the "lookout" for people suspected of cooperating with Israel.
A Palestinian Journalist, who asked to remain anonymous, told reporters that some of the residents of the camp took to beating and stomping on the corpses prior to the hanging.
The men were then hung from an electrical tower amongst a large crowd that was heard chanting "traitors" and "Allahu Akbar", fuelling the growing fears of increased radicalisation as the war between Israel and Hamas continues.
According to Palestinian news reports, the hanging of the bodies was cheered on by a large audience.
A Palestinian Journalist, who asked to remain anonymous, told reporters that some of the residents of the camp took to beating and stomping on the corpses.
Video footage depicts hundreds of Palestinian civilians, predominantly men, filling the entrance of the Tulkarem refugee camp while others filmed and celebrated the killing of the two male suspects.
While it is not clear where Palestinian Authority Security Forces were during the events, the Public Prosecutors Office said that it would reveal the details of the killings in the coming days.
While the hanging of the men to the electrical tower was proven unsuccessful, the Palestinian Journalist reported that the bodies were later thrown over the wall of a UN school in the refugee camp, with their feet being tied to a chain link fence.
The killing resulted in the bodies of the men being thrown into dumpsters, according to local photo evidence.
This is not Gaza, this is the West Bank. Hamas "freedom frighters" hanging their own people using street mobs. The Palestinian Authorities are too afraid to intervene. pic.twitter.com/IQw5fn0U3d
— Avishai Sam Bitton (@Avishai_Bitton) November 25, 2023
On Saturday, footage shared on the Tulkarm Brigades Telegram channel, showed a man allegedly confessing to being a spy for Israel's Security Services.
The tape also shared the individual, with his eyes downcast, describing his recent interactions with the Israeli Intelligence Officers and providing details of his activities as an alleged informant to Israel.
According to Palestinian militants in the West Bank, the victims had provided Israel with information that led to six of its members being killed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in a recent counter-terror raid.
Three of the members who were killed in the IDF raid this month have been identified as members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
The Tulkarm Brigades group, which is also affiliated with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade – the armed offshoot of the secular nationalist Fatah party, posted a statement after the men were publicly executed.
The cryptic statement read: "We did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves."
The statement also declared that there was "no immunity for any informant or traitor".
According to Palestinian media accounts, after the Tulkarm Brigades warned of its continued crack-down on informants, the family of one of the accused spies shared a statement that called its relative a disgrace.
The statement said that the man was a "malicious finger that we have cut off without regret", going on to note: "We affirm our complete innocence and we won't allow anyone to blame us for his guilt."
While the Shin Bet, Israel's Security Service, declined to comment on the recent events, it has been known for pressuring Palestinians to become informers.
Israel's Security Service has been accused of using different forms of pressure to entice informants, including blackmail or promising work or entry permits for Israel.
In a statement that criticised the public murder of the alleged informants, the Independent Commission for Human Rights, a Palestinian rights group, said that Israel was responsible for the deaths if they recruited the Palestinian agents.
