TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / December 23, 2024
PA security forces have so far killed three Palestinians, including a field commander from the Jenin Battalion. Several others, including members of the security forces, were also injured.
Israel’s Channel 14 reported on Sunday that Israel has warned Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas that the “deadline” for the ongoing operation by Palestinian security forces in Jenin camp, located in the northern occupied West Bank, is nearing.
According to the channel, Israel’s message to Abbas states: “You have a short period to finish the operation in Jenin, and then we will resume operations in the northern West Bank.”
For the third consecutive week, PA security forces have been conducting a campaign in the Jenin refugee camp, targeting individuals they describe as “outlaws”.
The stated aim is to “restore order and end security chaos.” However, Palestinian political groups assert that the campaign is directed against resistance fighters.
On Sunday, the PA security forces announced the death of one of their members during clashes in the camp.
PA security forces have so far killed three Palestinians, including a field commander from the Jenin Battalion. Several others, including members of the security forces, were also injured.
A warning from the resistance
The Jenin Battalion, affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades – the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement – issued a warning to PA security forces.
According to Al-Jazeera, the group urged PA members to “come to their senses” and cautioned against “testing their patience” amid the ongoing clashes.
The Jenin Battalion further stated that the PA security forces had detained 237 of its members for refusing to participate in the operation.
The group accused PA security forces of killing 14 citizens unlawfully since October 7 of last year, without accountability or oversight.
According to the Jenin Battalion, the purpose of the PA campaign is to target resistance fighters and disarm them.
Israel has reportedly expressed “satisfaction” with the operation in Jenin. Israeli media reports suggest that the Israeli army is considering providing military equipment to PA security forces to “confront resistance organizations and enhance intelligence cooperation.”
PA campaign
The latest tensions in Jenin began earlier this month when the PA security forces arrested two Palestinians, Ibrahim Tubasi and Imad Abu Al-Haija. This prompted the Jenin Battalion to take two PA vehicles hostage to demand their release.
The PA rejected the demands and emphasized its objective of ending resistance activities and disarming fighters, which resistance groups firmly oppose.
The situation escalated further when PA forces killed a Palestinian teenager, Rebhi Shalabi, during their operations in Jenin.
These operations included besieging Jenin Hospital and cutting off electricity and water to the camp.
In the ensuing clashes, Yazid Ja’ayseh, a leader of the Jenin Battalion, was killed alongside a young man and a child from the camp. Multiple injuries were reported on both sides.
Clashes between resistance fighters and PA security forces have become common in cities across the northern West Bank, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm.
These confrontations occur alongside ongoing Israeli military incursions, settler violence, and the broader Israeli campaign of aggression against the Palestinian population, especially in the besieged Gaza Strip.
