Following Jenin Operation, Palestinian Authority Issues Warning to Gunmen Amid Rising Tension
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Sulaiman
- . July 18, 2023
- . Update: July 18, 2023 9:04 pm
The West Bank’s troublesome gunmen have received a stern warning from the Palestinian Authority, which has threatened to “cut off the hand of anyone who attempts to tamper with the security and stability” of the Palestinians.
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The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Interior, which is in charge of the Palestinian security forces, declared on Monday night that it was committed to upholding law and order throughout the West Bank.
The Ministry reaffirmed its unwavering dedication to carrying out President Mahmoud Abbas’ directives to continuously work to uphold the rule of law and ensure the safety and security of all of our people, according to the statement. We issue a warning to anyone attempting to jeopardize the protection of the Palestinians.
The warning came amid escalating hostilities in the northern West Bank between the PA and some armed groups in the wake of the significant Israeli military operation in the Jenin Refugee Camp earlier this month. According to the groups, the PA security forces have recently detained several gunmen as part of a larger effort to end the “resistance” movement against Israel.
‘Outlaws’ are detained by the Palestinian Authority
However, the PA claimed that it had detained several “outlaws” who had taken part in an assault on a Jenin-area police station.
Murad Malaisheh and Mohammed Barahmeh were detained by PA security forces on the first day of the operation as they were en route from the nearby village of Jaba’ to the Jenin Refugee Camp to engage in combat with Israeli troops.
According to reports, Malaisheh is the leader of the Jaba’ Battalion, a local militia made up of assailants from the ruling Fatah faction, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The two men’s rifles were also seized by the PA security forces.
In retaliation, several gunmen opened fire on the PA police station in Jaba’ before attacking it with gunfire. Nobody was harmed.
Several suspects have been detained by PA security forces concerning the attack on the police station. Eid Hamamreh, Mu’men Fashafsheh, Ahmed Salatneh, and Emad Khalilyeh were among them.
The suspects are members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Fatah, according to Jenin’s PA Governor Akram Rajoub, who called them “outlaws” and described them as such.
When the [Palestinian security forces] detain any Palestinian, we affirm that they do so with complete professionalism and responsibility, Rajoub insisted.
The Jenin Battalion responded by accusing the PA of “chasing and arresting resistance fighters” and calling the action “shameful.” The Jenin Battalion is a group of Palestinian Islamic Jihad supporters.
The group made hints that Israel and the PA were working together to carry out the crackdown. The Jenin Battalion stated, “They shouldn’t be stabbing us with the knife of political arrests. We’re not asking the [Palestinian] security forces to fight [against Israel] on our behalf.”
According to the group, it was promised that Malaisheh and Barahmeh, who were detained at the start of the Israeli military operation, would be released, so it agreed to Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to the Jenin Refugee Camp on July 12. Additionally, it urged Palestinians to demonstrate against the arrests in public.
Protests in the camp for refugees in Jenin
Following the call, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated against the arrest of the gunmen by the Palestinian security forces in the Jenin Refugee Camp and other areas of the West Bank. In some parts of the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, there were similar protests. The demonstrators chanted phrases condemning “political arrests” and demanding the detainees’ immediate release.
Gunmen and Fatah officials took part in the demonstrations. Jamal Hawil, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, hailed the Jenin Battalion soldiers as “heroes” and expressed pride in his group’s close ties to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The gunmen from the Jenin Battalion, according to Hawil, only wanted to “fight for the sake of Palestine,” not get jobs with the PA.
We kiss your hands, legs, and heads, the Fatah official told all of the resistance fighters. We don’t want to spot any members of the resistance in [Palestinian] jail. I request that all political detainees be released from the custody of the Palestinian security forces.
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The arrest of the gunmen, according to Khader Habib, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official in the Gaza Strip, demonstrates that the PA is still coordinating security with Israel. We implore the security forces of the Palestinian Authority to rejoin the populace and aid our legitimate cause, continued Habib.
