Ahmad al-Bazz
Mondoweiss / July 7, 2023
Following the Israeli army’s withdrawal from the Jenin refugee camp this week, frustrated and outraged Palestinian youth confronted Palestinian Authority security forces in the city, accusing them of being “collaborators” with the Israeli occupation.
VIDEO : Video: Palestinians in Jenin confront PA after deadly Israeli invasion – Mondoweiss
The 48 hours between Monday July 3rd and Wednesday July 5th saw the deadliest Israeli military invasion of the Jenin refugee camp since the Second Intifada. Twelve Palestinians were killed, and more than 100 others were injured. In the midst of the invasion, on Tuesday July 4th, Palestinian Authority security forces arrested two fighters who were wanted by Israeli authorities.
On July 6th, the Jenin Brigade, a local armed resistance group, issued a statement condemning the Palestinian Authority’s detention of its fighters, saying:
“It is heart-breaking that we are being fatally stabbed in the back by our own people, the PA security services, which committed an act on Tuesday that no fighter or defender of this land would accept.”
Just a few hours after Israeli forces withdrew from the Jenin Refugee Camp, local youth gathered outside the PA headquarters in the city to express their anger against the Palestinian security forces, who throughout the army invasion, remained inside their headquarters. The protest escalated with the use of explosives and Molotov cocktails. In response, the PA fired warning shots into the air and deployed tear gas canisters.
During the funeral procession for 12 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in the Jenin Refugee Camp, local residents expelled a delegation representing the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement. Subsequent protests took place in Nablus and several other villages in the West Bank on the same day.
Ahmad al-Bazz is a Palestine-based independent journalist and documentary filmmaker focusing on Palestinian-Israeli affairs
