The Palestinian Authority (PA) is facing increasing difficulties in the northern West Bank city of Jenin as it launches an ongoing operation against Iranian-backed local terrorist groups. The crackdown sparked violent clashes and highlighted the deepening rift between the PA and local residents. community.
“Iran is providing funding to armed groups to purchase arms, and the Palestinian Authority is now acting to stop that. They are taking steps to block the funding and crack down on the factions.Palestinian Autonomous government says Iran continues to support Hamas and Islamic Jihad This is the challenge they face, especially after the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and it is the right time to confront Iran, and after this event, the public mood is no longer in favor of any relationship with Israel. We also do not welcome military conflict,” Mohammed said. Daraghmeh, the Asharq News bureau chief in Ramallah, told Fox News Digital.
The US has reportedly requested approval to provide emergency military support to the PA as Israel steps up its crackdown on terrorist groups in Jenin, Axios news agency reported. The Biden administration is seeking to provide PA security forces with ammunition, helmets, body armor, armored vehicles and other essentials, but needs Israeli consent to proceed. Historically, U.S. aid to the PA has ranged from $200 million to $300 million annually. In recent years, especially after the Biden administration took office, aid to the PA, which had been frozen during the Trump administration, has been resumed.
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Mourners scream during the funeral of 19-year-old Rahabi Shalabi, who was killed the day before in a clash between Palestinian security forces and militants in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 10, 2024. (ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Dr. Michael Milshtein, director of the Palestine Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University, said, “Since October 7, the pressure from Hamas and Islamic Jihad has increased, and Iran is also heavily involved,” adding that the situation has changed since October. further emphasized. 7. Pointed out the influence of Iranian support forces. “They are trying to advance their operations in the West Bank, including attempts to build rockets from Jenin and launch them into Israeli cities. It is still in the early stages and these efforts have failed. But this is a development of the problem and an indication of what is to come.”Jenin is evolving into a terrorist hub. ”
Last weekend, Pennsylvania state security forces killed Islamic Jihad commander Yazid Jaisa in an operation, raising tensions in the region. This is the third death in Jenin within a week, following the killing of 19-year-old Rabi Shalabi in a gunfight between PA forces and local armed groups. The death further fueled discontent in the city, especially among residents of the Jenin refugee camp. “Right now, the entire refugee camp is against the PA,” Daragmeh said.
On Sunday, reports emerged that the PA had deployed troops outside the camp, but attempts to enter were met with resistance. Many of the terrorists in the camp have vowed to fight PA forces, posing a serious challenge to the PA’s plans to reassert control.
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On December 15, 2024, Palestinian Authority security forces vehicles block a road during clashes with armed groups in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The PA, which coordinates security issues with Israel, arrested several militants. (ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)
“Right now, there’s no active fighting going on, but the Pennsylvania National Guard is stuck. They tried to get in, but they failed, and now they’re stuck outside,” Daragme said. “They can’t leave, but they can’t continue their operation either, because dozens of insurgents are ready to confront them.”
“The PA does not have the ability to control northern Samaria and the surrounding areas. The PA has lost control of these areas and has been in control for years. For a while, Israel has treated Jenin and the surrounding area like Gaza, with no PA control mechanism and essentially a real vacuum.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (right) and President Biden shake hands in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Friday, July 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The timing of the PA’s operation is significant, with many observers noting that it coincides with broader regional conditions, including the ongoing war in Gaza and the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. are. Milstein believes that events in Syria influenced the PA’s decision to act. “The people of the West Bank say they saw what happened to one dictator (PA President Mahmoud Abbas) to the other (Bashar al-Assad) and decided that they would not suffer the same fate. “There are,” Milstein explained. “Mahmoud Abbas probably felt he needed to act before the PA’s authority in the West Bank was completely undermined.”
The operation is part of a larger crackdown in the northern West Bank and also reflects the PA’s desire to assert itself as a competent authority ahead of potential political developments in Gaza. The PA has long struggled with its ability to govern Gaza, which was lost to Hamas in 2007. At a time when the region is in turmoil, the PA wants to prove it can restore order to the West Bank, which it claims will strengthen Gaza’s legitimacy. In all post-war political scenarios in Gaza.
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A Palestinian security guard fires tear gas at protesters in the center of the West Bank city of Jenin and its camp on December 16, 2024. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images)
“It is inconceivable that the PA could take control of Gaza,” Milstein said, adding: “There are 2 million people there. They have been ruled by Hamas for 17 years, and 60% were born after Hamas took over. They were in Gaza.” Giving the PA two hours in Gaza is a known failure from the beginning for those who have been educated to view the PA as a collaborator of Israel and its enemies. ”
Despite the violence in Jenin, Daragmeh does not expect the conflict to spread beyond Jenin. “The people of Ramallah, Hebron and other cities do not want the West Bank to become a second Gaza,” Daraghmeh said. “Although the situation in Jenin is contained, the situation continues to test the PA’s ability to control its own territory.”
