JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir granted a promotion to an officer whose undercover Border Police unit killed two unarmed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, local media reported on Sunday.

Ben-Gvir informed the commander of the unit that he would advance him to deputy commissioner, Haaretz daily reported, noting that the decision came one day after video showed unit members firing on two Palestinians who raised their hands.

The minister, who leads the far-right Jewish Power Party, visited the unit’s base to personally notify the commander, identified as “K,” about the promotion, the paper added.

The report described the move as “unusual” because unit commanders in the police typically hold a lower rank.

Three officers from the unit remain under investigation “on suspicion of killing and unlawfully shooting the two Palestinians during an operational activity in Jenin on Thursday,” Haaretz said.

“During the questioning, investigators presented the officers with footage in which the two Palestinians were seen leaving a house in Jenin with their hands raised in the air,” the newspaper said.

After the officers overpowered the Palestinians, they ordered them to lie on the ground at the entrance to the building, and then one of the officers shot them dead at close range, Haaretz added.

The officers claimed that they felt their lives were in danger after the two allegedly made “suspicious movements.”

Ben-Gvir posted videos on Friday hugging the unit commander and expressing support for the unit as the criminal investigation continues.

The Israeli army has escalated its attacks in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

More than 1,085 Palestinians have since been killed, and 10,700 others injured in attacks by the army and illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied territory. More than 20,500 people have also been arrested.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.