Palestinian security forces launch a rare crackdown on militants in the West Bank

Palestinian forces launch an assault on local militant groups in West Bank

Jenin (West Bank): Palestinian security forces have launched a rare crackdown against local militant groups in the northern West Bank, sending in armoured cars and engaging in fierce gunbattles that have killed at least two people in the volatile area.

The raid marks an unusual step for the Palestinian Authority, the governing body for semi-autonomous pockets in the occupied West Bank that is internationally recognised but has largely lost control of militant strongholds such as Jenin, where forces operated through the weekend and into Monday.

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Israeli troops have stepped into the vacuum in recent years, particularly since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militant attack that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. Palestinian health officials say 811 Palestinians have been killed since then in the West Bank, most by Israeli raids into Palestinian cities and towns. Israel says most of the dead have been militants.

On Saturday, Palestinian security forces said they had begun the operation in the Jenin refugee camp, a longtime militant stronghold. The operation was continuing Monday, with AP reporters hearing heavy gunfire and spotting at least two Palestinian armoured vehicles roaming the outskirts of the camp.

The U.N. humanitarian office said that security forces took over part of a hospital in Jenin, using it as a base and shooting from inside. Forces detained at least eight men, pulling one out of the hospital on a stretcher, the U.N. said.

The main U.N. agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, suspended its services, including schooling.

The militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas operate freely across Jenin, and its streets are regularly lined with posters depicting slain fighters as martyrs to the Palestinian struggle. Young men carrying walkie-talkies patrol the alleys.

Israel says the militant groups are part of the Iranian “axis of resistance.” Both groups receive funding and other support from Iran, but they are deeply rooted in Palestinian society.

The security forces are “operating according to a clear political vision” from Palestinian leadership “on the importance of imposing order, establishing the rule of law, restoring civil peace and societal security,” spokesman Brig. Gen. Anwar Rajab said. The troops were focused on “eradicating” Iran-backed groups that were trying to incite “chaos and anarchy,” he added.

Palestinian security forces have reported the deaths of two men in the crackdown: a 19-year-old civilian, Rabhi Shalabi, shot riding a motorcycle, and an Islamic Jihad militant, Yazi Jaayseh.

Security forces, which initially denied killing Shalabi before admitting it in a statement Friday, have not said why they targeted the young man. His 15-year-old cousin, who was also on the motorcycle, was shot in the head and wounded. U.N. officials, citing local video footage, have said the pair were unarmed and delivering food from a family restaurant when they were shot, and that Shalabi raised both in the air hands before he was killed.

It was not immediately clear why the Palestinian Authority decided to launch the crackdown now. Such actions are unpopular with the Palestinian public, where many accuse the Palestinian security forces of collaborating with Israel.

The Israeli military said it was not involved in the operation and did not comment further.

Hamas senior official Mahmoud Mardawi slammed the Palestinian Authority operating in Jenin as an “attempt to end the resistance.” In comments released by Hamas late Monday, he urged the Palestinian Authority to immediately stop its “unpatriotic behavior that serves the occupation.”

The U.S. has sought to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, hoping it will help run the Gaza Strip after the war.

White House officials declined to comment publicly on their position on the Jenin operation. Officials at the U.S. National Security Council also declined to comment.

Overall, since the start of the war, the U.N. says that at least seven Palestinians have been killed by Palestinian security forces, and at least 24 Israelis have also been killed by Palestinian attackers in the West Bank.