Palestinian Militants Execute Two Men For 'Spying' For Israel

Two men who were allegedly working with Israel as informants were killed by Palestinian militants in the West Bank on Saturday.

The two alleged informants were beaten and stomped on, and their bodies were dragged through the streets before being hung on an electricity pylon in the city of Tulkram. They were accused of spying for Israeli security forces during a raid on the Tulkarm refugee camp on November 6. Three militants had been killed in the operation by Israeli forces.

Several videos of the horrifying killings have made it to social media platforms such as X (earlier known as Twitter). In one such video, the men can be seen "confessing" that they collaborated with Israeli security forces. The crowd could also be heard hurling abuse at them.

There was "no immunity for any informant or traitor", said the Tulkarm Brigades, a group based in the West Bank city, per a report in Reuters. The group is associated with the Fatah faction, a Palestinian political party formed in 1959 as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement.

The statement further warned: "We are on the lookout for him and will hold him accountable." It also said that anyone who has been working with Israeli security forces has until December 5 to come forward and repent. Hamas and Israel have not issued any statements on the executions yet.

The development coincided with Hamas releasing 13 Israeli hostages along with four foreign nationals. The exchange of hostages and prisoners is part of the four-day pause on hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Qatar and Egypt facilitated the four-day truce. As part of the truce, Israel agreed to release Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, and Hamas agreed to release the hostages.

In a statement published by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, Israel reported that the ceasefire could be extended as long as more hostages were freed.

The 50 Israeli hostages are expected to be released at a rate of 10 per day, according to Netanyahu's statement. Israel's Justice Ministry later published a list that contained the names of 300 Palestinian prisoners who could be freed if the ceasefire agreement was extended.

Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks. It retaliated after the militant group launched an unprecedented coordinated attack on the country.

Gaza-based Hamas attacked Israel with a barrage of some 2,000–5,000 missiles on October 7. Hamas brutally massacred 1,400 Israelis (mostly civilians) and took over 200 hostages in the surprise assault.

Meanwhile, more than 14,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Israel's bombardment of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.