Palestinian militants in a West Bank refugee camp shot and killed two men believed to be collaborators with Israel early on a Saturday morning. The gruesome aftermath was filmed and shared on social media, bringing to mind the chaos of past Palestinian uprisings against Israeli rule in 1987 and 2000. The pressure on Palestinian society has been exacerbated by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and related violence, such as deadly Israeli military raids and settler attacks.
The Tulkarem refugee camp killings were triggered by the belief that the victims had helped Israeli security forces target a militant group. The two alleged informers, in their late 20s and early 30s, were accused of aiding an Israeli army raid that killed three key militants. Israeli-Palestinian tensions escalated further when Israeli forces raided the town of Qabatiya on the same day, resulting in the death of a prominent doctor, sparking unrest and violence.
The militant group, linked to the secular nationalist Fatah party, publicly stated that the two men had “wronged themselves.” However, the family of one of the accused informers publicly disowned him, denying any involvement and asserting their innocence. In the aftermath of the killings, a Palestinian journalist claimed that the corpses of the two men were beaten, stomped on, and dragged through the streets before being discarded at a U.N. school in the camp.
Online videos purporting to show confession statements by the two men indicated that they had been paid by Israeli intelligence officials for information. The Israel security agency Shin Bet did not comment on the killings, but have a history of using Palestinians as informers through coercion or incentives. The violent events reflect the deep-seated animosity and mistrust that persists between Palestinians and Israelis.