As part of the ongoing escalation against Palestinian activists, Palestinian Authority security forces killed Abdul Rahman Yaqub Ahmad Abu Al-Muna by shooting him in cold blood on Monday evening.
This incident took place while the West Bank is witnessing ongoing Israeli military aggression on refugee camps in the northern West Bank, particularly Jenin, which has been under siege for over seven weeks.
As the Israel occupation escalates its targeting of Palestinian resistance fighters, the involvement of PA security forces in pursuing and killing wanted individuals raises serious legal and ethical concerns about grave abuses of power, violations of the right to life, and the use of security forces to suppress opponents and resistance fighters rather than protect Palestinian citizens from the occupation.
The killing of Abu Al-Muna is yet another example of the excessive use of force by Palestinian security forces, a practice long criticised by both local and international human rights organisations.
Shooting individuals instead of arresting and putting them on trial without charges constitutes a blatant violation of Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.”
Additionally, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits authorities from arbitrarily depriving individuals of their right to life.
The human rights concerns in this incident are not limited to the direct killing but also extend to the lack of accountability and justice. While Palestinian security forces are supposed to be accountable under the law, similar killings often go uninvestigated and without transparent judicial proceedings, reinforcing a culture of impunity.
This approach will result in the Palestinian citizens losing trust in official institutions and fuel further internal tensions and unrest.
This incident cannot be separated from the broader context of political arrests and violations carried out by Palestinian security forces against activists and resistance fighters in the West Bank. In recent years, hundreds of cases of arbitrary detention and torture in Palestinian prisons have been documented, which violate the Convention Against Torture signed by Palestine in 2014.
Abu Al-Muna’s killing comes amid a surge in abuses that have led to the deaths of 10 Palestinians at the hands of Palestinian security forces in Jenin since the start of the latest security campaign, including three children and a journalist. This alarming rise in internal violence highlights the urgent need for independent international oversight to investigate these crimes and hold those responsible accountable.
The killing of Abu Al-Muna by Palestinian Authority forces requires an independent and transparent investigation into the incident, as well as an end to the excessive use of force against Palestinian citizens. Serious steps must be taken to uphold human rights, including halting arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings, and ensuring that those responsible for such crimes are brought to justice.
