image source, Getty Images
On Saturday, December 14, the Palestinian Authority security services killed one of the leaders of the “Jenin Brigade” affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, Yazid Ja’aysa, during their storming of the Jenin camp, in the northern West Bank..
The leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement was one of those wanted and pursued by the Israeli army. Eyewitnesses confirmed that the storming of the Palestinian security services caused injuries among Palestinians.
The official spokesman for the Palestinian Security Forces, Brigadier General Anwar Rajab, said on Saturday, December 14, that the security services have begun “implementing new steps, as part of their continuing efforts to maintain security and civil peace, extend the rule of law, and end the strife and chaos in the Jenin camp.” .
Rajab added, in a press statement, that the goal of the new steps is to “reclaim Jenin camp from the control of outlaws, who disturbed the citizen’s daily life and robbed him of his right to receive public services freely and safely.”
Rajab stressed that the security services will continue to “pursue all those who seek to threaten civil peace and community security, including outlaws and those with suspicious agendas, and those who facilitate the occupation’s mission in implementing its plans and its efforts to undermine the Palestinian National Authority and deprive our people of achieving their freedom and independence.”
The Palestinian Authority security services announced the start of a security operation under the name “Protecting a Homeland” in the city and Jenin camp, saying that it aims to “maintain security and restore stability” inside the camp.
“Criticism from Palestinian factions”
On the other hand, the Islamic Jihad Movement, in a statement on December 14, mourned the leader of the movement, Yazid Jaaysa, saying that he was “killed by bullets from the Authority’s security forces in Jenin.”
The movement added, in its statement: “We denounce the Authority’s security services’ continued pursuit of resistance fighters and those wanted by the occupation, and we condemn the escalating and deliberate targeting of them in Jenin, which is completely consistent with the occupation’s aggression and criminality, without paying any attention to all calls to stop its hand on our people and our resistors.”
The movement called on all Palestinian factions and forces to take “a decisive stance against what the authorities are doing throughout the West Bank, especially in Jenin, and to put serious pressure on them to put an end to these dangerous transgressions that threaten our national fabric and societal stability.”
In the same context, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) declared its full solidarity with the Islamic Jihad Movement.
In a statement on December 14, the Hamas movement called on the leaders of the Palestinian Authority to “rein in the behavior of its agencies, immediately and completely stop all these shameful attacks, expedite the release of all political detainees from its prisons, and correct its moral and national compass towards the option of unity and resistance to deter the occupation and repel the occupation.” “His aggression.”
The killing of the leader of the Islamic Jihad movement comes after days of tension in the city of Jenin, following the killing of a young Palestinian man, on Monday evening, December 9, at the hands of the Palestinian security services.
According to a statement by the family of the killed young man, “A security forces patrol opened fire on two young men from the family who were riding a legal motorcycle heading to work. When they approached the patrol in the Jabriyat neighborhood outside the camp, they got off the motorcycle at the request of the patrol members, and from inside the security vehicle they fired.” They opened fire on them from a close range, which led to the death of the young man, Ribhi Al-Shalabi, with two bullets that penetrated his chest, and the injury of the young man, Hassan Al-Shalabi, in his eye.”
After an initial denial, the Palestinian Authority security services acknowledged, on December 12, their responsibility for the killing of the Palestinian youth, Ribhi Al-Shalabi (19 years old), adding that they were “committed to dealing with the repercussions of the incident in a manner consistent with the law, and in a way that ensures justice and respect for rights.”
“An attempt to calm the situation”
In an attempt to calm the burning situation, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa went to the city of Jenin on Saturday, December 12.
The Palestinian Prime Minister stressed, in his speech, that “Jenin camp and the rest of the camps are a symbol of our pride, and this is a covenant from Mr. President and from all of us. It is a national symbol and we must preserve it, but our people in the camps must not be robbed of their means of decent living.”
The Palestinian Prime Minister added: “We will not fail with our people in the Gaza Strip and our people in Jenin and the rest of the country’s governorates,” stressing that “establishing security and safety is an essential part of achieving development and stability.”
Mustafa stressed “the necessity of giving priority to the national interest and our unity as a single Palestinian people united with their national issues,” warning against falling into “the occupation’s plans that target the civil security and peace of our Palestinian society.”
On social media, Palestinian activists denounced the behavior of the Palestinian security services and the name of the “Protectors of the Homeland” campaign, wondering what the security campaign aims to achieve.
One of the Palestinian activists said on the AX website, “The authority, which did not do anything in the face of the attacks of Israeli settlers and soldiers on the West Bank, is contributing to stripping the camps of their weapons that are used for self-defense, in conjunction with the ethnic cleansing campaign carried out by the Israeli army.” .
On the other hand, other Palestinians called for the supreme Palestinian interest to prevail, and not to be drawn into internal conflicts that do not serve the Palestinian cause.
- Does the behavior of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank lead to increased Palestinian division?
- What is the purpose of the raids carried out by the Palestinian security services in the West Bank?
- Do these incursions help maintain security, as the Palestinian security services say?
- How do you see the criticism directed by some Palestinian factions towards the behavior of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank?
- Do the clashes herald the situation sliding into Palestinian-Palestinian fighting?
We will discuss these topics and others with you in the episode on Monday, December 16
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