Two men accused of spying for Israel were executed in the West Bank, with their bodies dragged through alleys before being hung from a pylon by a cheering mob.
The two men were shot dead in the West Bank city of Tulkarm on Friday by members of Palestinian armed groups.
A Palestinian journalist in the camp, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the men were beaten and stomped on by residents before being hung up from an electrical tower and then dumped in a skip.
Videos show hundreds of Palestinians crowding around the entrance of the camp and filming the violence with their phones.
The two men were accused of helping Israeli security forces target Hamas in a raid that killed three key terrorists earlier this month, a Palestinian security officer said.
The two alleged informers were in their late 20s and early 30s, respectively, with one coming from the refugee camp where the killings happened.
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.
‘Come forward and repent’
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.
The Tulkarm Brigades statement said anyone who had been working with Israeli security services had until Dec 5 to come forward and repent.
The family of one of the accused informers sought to distance itself in a statement, calling its disgraced relative a “malicious finger that we have cut off without regret”.
“We affirm our complete innocence,” the family added, “and we won’t allow anyone to blame us for his guilt.”
A second Palestinian official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Palestinian security forces were aware of the incident. The public prosecutor’s office said it would have details in the coming days about a police investigation into the killings.
Violence in the occupied West Bank has worsened since the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct 7 and the Israeli army’s response in Gaza.
Credit: Yahoo News