Palestinian Authority proves loyalty to US, Israel by attacking Jenin
Tamara Nassar
Tamara Nassar
17 December 2024
ELECTRONIC INTAFADA
Palestinian Authority forces Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank on 16 December 2024. Mohammed NasserAPA images
The Palestinian Authority is demonstrating its value and proving loyalty to its Israeli and American masters through a deadly military operation in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
“The operation is a make or break moment for the Palestinian Authority,” one unnamed Palestinian official told Barak Ravid, an Israeli media figure with close ties to US and Israeli intelligence.
The deadly PA military operation in Jenin and its refugee camp, which is nearing a second week, is targeted at armed Palestinian resistance in the area which emerged to counter Israeli encroachment and land grabs.
PA leader Mahmoud Abbas launched the operation “to send a message to the incoming [Donald] Trump administration that the Palestinian Authority is a reliable partner,” Ravid wrote for Axios.
The PA’s “actions seem to be driven by its desire to offer a ‘valuable gift’ to the incoming US administration and win the favor of President-elect Donald Trump, by suggesting that its military operation in Jenin is capable of ‘cutting off the head of the resistance,’” one analysis piece in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar read.
Whether the PA can be successful in actually making a dent in resistance capabilities or the will to carry on is a different story.
There is buzz in Israeli media about the fragility of the Palestinian Authority, with concerns that some members within its ranks may shift their loyalties. This is why the PA is attempting to demonstrate its capabilities in suppressing armed resistance in areas where Israel grants it nominal control.
Asked for more weapons
The PA is employing Israel-like tactics to achieve this.
Since the military operation began, PA forces have occupied the Jenin government hospital, cut off electricity and water to the camp, shot and killed two youths in addition to a member of the armed resistance, creating a state of fear and uncertainty in the camp.
Schools have been closed in the area, with students shifted to virtual learning. Jenin residents have observed a camp-wide strike for the fourth day in a row to protest the PA’s incursion.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has been forced to suspend its operations in the area.
“Children remain out of school and camp residents are unable to access primary healthcare and other critical services,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, said on Tuesday.
“For far too long, residents of Jenin and Jenin camp have been subject to a cycle of violence and destruction, rendering the camp nearly uninhabitable,” Lazzarini added, failing to mention that it was the Israeli military that subjected Jenin to widespread destruction and accelerated violence since Israel launched its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023.
In September this year, Israel reportedly destroyed the vast majority of Jenin’s streets during a lethal multi-day raid of the city and its camp.
The PA operation is being carried out with full coordination with Israel, Hebrew media has reported. PA security chiefs even met with Michael R. Fenzel, a US lieutenant general who oversees so-called security ties between Israel and the Palestinians, ahead of the operation to go over planning details.
The PA officials handed Fenzel a detailed list of weaponry needed to intensify their offensive against Palestinians, Axios reported.
The US is now asking Israel to authorize the transfer of weapons to the PA, ensuring it can continue carrying out Israel’s dirty work.
Officials from the Joe Biden administration, including the US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, requested that Israel approve “the urgent delivery of ammunition, helmets, bulletproof vests, radios, night vision equipment, explosive disposal suits and armored cars.”
Incoherent propaganda
Palestinian and US officials told Barak Ravid the operation was also launched “to try to prevent what happened in Syria from happening in the West Bank.”
One Palestinian official said that this was the “Syria effect. Abbas and his team were concerned that what happened in Aleppo and Damascus will inspire Palestinian Islamist group[s].”
This is, of course, incoherent with the Palestinian Authority’s other propaganda, which portrays armed Palestinian groups in the camps as part of an “Iranian-funded takeover,” as the unnamed Palestinian official told Ravid.
“The gunmen in Jenin are not resistance fighters, but mercenaries serving the dubious agenda of an outside party,” Anwar Rajab, the spokesperson of the PA “security” forces, said.
Rajab likened activities by the groups to “ISIS-style efforts,” highlighting this incoherence.
In reality, the resistance in the West Bank has existed as long as Israel’s military occupation has, and is a direct reaction to it. It is not motivated by external support.
This is a reality the PA understands and is undermined by, which is why the collaborationist body is willing to do everything in its power to prove its worth to its Israeli masters.
Palestinian Authority forces Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank on 16 December 2024. Mohammed NasserAPA images
The Palestinian Authority is demonstrating its value and proving loyalty to its Israeli and American masters through a deadly military operation in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
“The operation is a make or break moment for the Palestinian Authority,” one unnamed Palestinian official told Barak Ravid, an Israeli media figure with close ties to US and Israeli intelligence.
The deadly PA military operation in Jenin and its refugee camp, which is nearing a second week, is targeted at armed Palestinian resistance in the area which emerged to counter Israeli encroachment and land grabs.
PA leader Mahmoud Abbas launched the operation “to send a message to the incoming [Donald] Trump administration that the Palestinian Authority is a reliable partner,” Ravid wrote for Axios.
The PA’s “actions seem to be driven by its desire to offer a ‘valuable gift’ to the incoming US administration and win the favor of President-elect Donald Trump, by suggesting that its military operation in Jenin is capable of ‘cutting off the head of the resistance,’” one analysis piece in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar read.
Whether the PA can be successful in actually making a dent in resistance capabilities or the will to carry on is a different story.
There is buzz in Israeli media about the fragility of the Palestinian Authority, with concerns that some members within its ranks may shift their loyalties. This is why the PA is attempting to demonstrate its capabilities in suppressing armed resistance in areas where Israel grants it nominal control.
Asked for more weapons
The PA is employing Israel-like tactics to achieve this.
Since the military operation began, PA forces have occupied the Jenin government hospital, cut off electricity and water to the camp, shot and killed two youths in addition to a member of the armed resistance, creating a state of fear and uncertainty in the camp.
Schools have been closed in the area, with students shifted to virtual learning. Jenin residents have observed a camp-wide strike for the fourth day in a row to protest the PA’s incursion.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has been forced to suspend its operations in the area.
“Children remain out of school and camp residents are unable to access primary healthcare and other critical services,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, said on Tuesday.
“For far too long, residents of Jenin and Jenin camp have been subject to a cycle of violence and destruction, rendering the camp nearly uninhabitable,” Lazzarini added, failing to mention that it was the Israeli military that subjected Jenin to widespread destruction and accelerated violence since Israel launched its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023.
In September this year, Israel reportedly destroyed the vast majority of Jenin’s streets during a lethal multi-day raid of the city and its camp.
The PA operation is being carried out with full coordination with Israel, Hebrew media has reported. PA security chiefs even met with Michael R. Fenzel, a US lieutenant general who oversees so-called security ties between Israel and the Palestinians, ahead of the operation to go over planning details.
The PA officials handed Fenzel a detailed list of weaponry needed to intensify their offensive against Palestinians, Axios reported.
The US is now asking Israel to authorize the transfer of weapons to the PA, ensuring it can continue carrying out Israel’s dirty work.
Officials from the Joe Biden administration, including the US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, requested that Israel approve “the urgent delivery of ammunition, helmets, bulletproof vests, radios, night vision equipment, explosive disposal suits and armored cars.”
Incoherent propaganda
Palestinian and US officials told Barak Ravid the operation was also launched “to try to prevent what happened in Syria from happening in the West Bank.”
One Palestinian official said that this was the “Syria effect. Abbas and his team were concerned that what happened in Aleppo and Damascus will inspire Palestinian Islamist group[s].”
This is, of course, incoherent with the Palestinian Authority’s other propaganda, which portrays armed Palestinian groups in the camps as part of an “Iranian-funded takeover,” as the unnamed Palestinian official told Ravid.
“The gunmen in Jenin are not resistance fighters, but mercenaries serving the dubious agenda of an outside party,” Anwar Rajab, the spokesperson of the PA “security” forces, said.
Rajab likened activities by the groups to “ISIS-style efforts,” highlighting this incoherence.
In reality, the resistance in the West Bank has existed as long as Israel’s military occupation has, and is a direct reaction to it. It is not motivated by external support.
This is a reality the PA understands and is undermined by, which is why the collaborationist body is willing to do everything in its power to prove its worth to its Israeli masters.
The Palestinian Authority is in the midst of a deadly operation it says is to 'restore law and order' in the Jenin refugee camp, home to the Jenin Brigade. But as the PA seeks to assert its control, it could risks undermining itself in the process.
December 17, 2024
MONDOWEISS
Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces patrol Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 16, 2024. The northern West Bank city of Jenin has been the site of intense violence for several days after the PA, which coordinates security matters with Israel, had arrested several militants, prompting clashes with local armed resistance groups. (Photo by Mohammed Nasser/apaimages)
The Palestinian Authority continued its military operation in the Jenin refugee camp for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, clashing with local Palestinian resistance fighters. The operation, which was launched last Saturday, has so far left two Palestinians killed, a young boy and a fighter from the Jenin Brigade, the local resistance group in Jenin, who was wanted by Israeli forces. Several Palestinian security officers were also injured.
Tensions were building up between Jenin fighters and the Palestinian security forces since last week, when Jenin fighters stopped two Palestinian police vehicles and confiscated them, in protest of a wave of arrests of their members by Palestinian security forces. Palestinian security then sealed off the refugee camp, which led to an eruption of clashes between both sides.
The spokesperson of the Palestinian security forces, Anwar Rajab, said that the operation “aims at taking back the Jenin camp from elements outside of the law who have deprived citizens from their security and their right to access public services.” For his part, the spokesperson of the Jenin Brigade, who concealed his identity, told Al Jazeera that he and his men “are not outlaws, we are for implementation of the law, but where is the law when the Israeli army comes to arrest us?” adding that “the Palestinian Authority wants Jenin disarmed.”
“What does the occupation need to do so that the Palestinian Authority understands that it needs to direct its weapons to the occupation, rather than to its own people?” the spokesperson of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Mohammad Mousa said on Monday in a debate with the spokesperson of the Palestinian security forces Anwar Rajab on Al Jazeera. “The resistance fighters are the sons of the camp, defending themselves, their families, and their community, in the absence of anyone to defend them, and not once have they lifted a gun against their own people or against the Palestinian authority,” Mousa said.
“We will not allow Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to drag us into an all-out confrontation with Israel, which will lead to the destruction of our people,” replied Anwar Rajab. “Do you want us in [in the West Bank] to see the same fate as Gaza?” he went on. “We will not allow external forces to destroy our national project by targeting the West Bank through paid-off mercenaries, and our security forces will continue to chase down those mercenaries who receive suspicious support,” he said, to which Mousa replied by asking if “defending oneself and one’s country is a suspicious act?”
Contrary to Rajab’s statements characterizing the resistance fighters as “mercenaries” with “suspicious” means of support who have “deprived citizens” of their security, residents of the Jenin camp have historically been vocal in their support of the local armed resistance groups.
Although both positions have been confronting for years in the West Bank, it is the first time that the conflict has escalated to such a violent and explicit level. The Jenin Brigade was formed in late 2021 by a small group of militants from different political affiliations, as a result of repeated Israeli raids, especially after the capture of two of the six escapees from the Gilboa high-security Israeli prison in Jenin, in September of the same year. The Brigade grew in size and soon began to issue its statements as a branch of ‘Saraya Al-Quds’, or the Jerusalem Battalions, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad.
The armed resistance model in Jenin resonated deeply with Palestinians in the West Bank, so much so that the same model was replicated in other northern West Bank cities, like Tulkarem, Tubas, and Nablus, where local brigades began to increase their armed confrontations against invading Israeli forces, which have grown in frequency and violence in recent years. In July 2022, Israel employed armed drones to strike Palestinian fighters in Jenin, in a first air strike in the West Bank in more than 20 years. Israeli raids included massive military bulldozers which destroyed the camp’s infrastructure, from water pipes, to electricity networks, to public monuments.
In an effort to combat the rise of these groups, the Palestinian Authority, which maintains security coordination with Israel, tried to persuade Palestinian fighters to give up their arms, in exchange for negotiating their amnesty with Israel and receiving sums of money and jobs in public service. Only a very small number of fighters took the offers, and the resistance groups grew in size and in experience.
On Sunday, Axios reported that the US asked Israel to allow military aid to the PA amidst its ongoing operation in Jenin. Both Arab and Israeli observers have considered the PA’s operation as an attempt to show its capacity to control the West Bank ahead of Trump’s coming into office, especially amidst Israeli reported preparations for “an extreme scenario” in the West Bank, which would include “the dismantlement of the PA and a wave of violence”, according to the Israeli daily ‘Israel Hayom’, quoting Israeli army sources.
According to other analysts, the PA acted after fears that Palestinian militants would draw inspiration from the collapse of the Syrian regime, and try to topple the PA. These speculations come despite the fact that Palestinian resistance groups have rarely initiated confrontation with PA forces, focusing their efforts primarily on confronting Israeli forces.
Analysis: How does the Jenin operation relate to Gaza?
The timing of the PA operation in Jenin can’t be dissociated from the reported advances in ceasefire talks in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, especially with reported pressure from Donald Trump to conclude a deal to free the Israeli captives in Gaza before his inauguration.
In the past few weeks, the PA has been holding talks with Hamas and the rest of Palestinian factions in Cairo, simultaneously to Hamas’s indirect talks with Israel to reach an agreement on the topic of administrating Gaza after the war. Both Hamas and Fatah, the ruling party of the PA, agreed on forming a technocratic, independent committee to receive and administrate reconstruction aid to Gaza, and oversee reconstruction efforts and daily affairs in the strip.
Meanwhile, PA president Mahmoud Abbas appointed the head of the Palestinian National Council, the highest representative body of the Palestinian people, as his successor to organize elections in case he might be out of the picture.
These steps are seemingly in line with repeated US demands to see “a revitalized Palestinian Authority,” in the midst of a complete absence of any real “peace” negotiations with Israel, which has largely affected the political legitimacy the PA, as Israel openly flaunts plans to annex the West Bank and vocalizes its blatant rejection of a Palestinian state.
On Sunday, Israeli sources reported that the heads of Israeli settlement councils in the West Bank presented a request to the Israeli cabinet before its weekly meeting, asking to implement the same model of action practiced by Israel in Gaza on the West Bank, particularly the forced displacement of refugee camps and large military operations against Palestinian resistance groups. Earlier last week, Israeli commentators on Israel’s channel 14 discussed publicly the possibility of implementing Gaza’s model in the West Bank, after seeing the images of Jenin fighters confiscating PA police vehicles.
With these developments, and in the midst of a loss of the PA’s political leverage, it seems that its leaders want at the same time to prove their capacity to control security in the Gaza Strip after the war, and in the West Bank in coming years under an annexation-friendly Trump administration.
The blindspot of the PA’s strategy, however, lies within internal Palestinian tensions, which will only rise as civilians in the West Bank – who are generally favorable towards armed resistance groups like the Jenin Brigade and unfavorable towards the PA – watch the confrontations play out in Jenin.
While the current show of force by the PA might buy it some time and relevance, it likely won’t give it back its the political strength it seeks, which it can only regain by supporting, both in word and action, a united Palestinian stand against Israel’s occupation and genocide. And in order to do that, it needs to have all Palestinians on its side – something that likely won’t be achieved with its current strategy in Jenin.
MONDOWEISS
Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces patrol Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 16, 2024. The northern West Bank city of Jenin has been the site of intense violence for several days after the PA, which coordinates security matters with Israel, had arrested several militants, prompting clashes with local armed resistance groups. (Photo by Mohammed Nasser/apaimages)The Palestinian Authority continued its military operation in the Jenin refugee camp for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, clashing with local Palestinian resistance fighters. The operation, which was launched last Saturday, has so far left two Palestinians killed, a young boy and a fighter from the Jenin Brigade, the local resistance group in Jenin, who was wanted by Israeli forces. Several Palestinian security officers were also injured.
Tensions were building up between Jenin fighters and the Palestinian security forces since last week, when Jenin fighters stopped two Palestinian police vehicles and confiscated them, in protest of a wave of arrests of their members by Palestinian security forces. Palestinian security then sealed off the refugee camp, which led to an eruption of clashes between both sides.
The spokesperson of the Palestinian security forces, Anwar Rajab, said that the operation “aims at taking back the Jenin camp from elements outside of the law who have deprived citizens from their security and their right to access public services.” For his part, the spokesperson of the Jenin Brigade, who concealed his identity, told Al Jazeera that he and his men “are not outlaws, we are for implementation of the law, but where is the law when the Israeli army comes to arrest us?” adding that “the Palestinian Authority wants Jenin disarmed.”
“What does the occupation need to do so that the Palestinian Authority understands that it needs to direct its weapons to the occupation, rather than to its own people?” the spokesperson of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Mohammad Mousa said on Monday in a debate with the spokesperson of the Palestinian security forces Anwar Rajab on Al Jazeera. “The resistance fighters are the sons of the camp, defending themselves, their families, and their community, in the absence of anyone to defend them, and not once have they lifted a gun against their own people or against the Palestinian authority,” Mousa said.
“We will not allow Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to drag us into an all-out confrontation with Israel, which will lead to the destruction of our people,” replied Anwar Rajab. “Do you want us in [in the West Bank] to see the same fate as Gaza?” he went on. “We will not allow external forces to destroy our national project by targeting the West Bank through paid-off mercenaries, and our security forces will continue to chase down those mercenaries who receive suspicious support,” he said, to which Mousa replied by asking if “defending oneself and one’s country is a suspicious act?”
Contrary to Rajab’s statements characterizing the resistance fighters as “mercenaries” with “suspicious” means of support who have “deprived citizens” of their security, residents of the Jenin camp have historically been vocal in their support of the local armed resistance groups.
Although both positions have been confronting for years in the West Bank, it is the first time that the conflict has escalated to such a violent and explicit level. The Jenin Brigade was formed in late 2021 by a small group of militants from different political affiliations, as a result of repeated Israeli raids, especially after the capture of two of the six escapees from the Gilboa high-security Israeli prison in Jenin, in September of the same year. The Brigade grew in size and soon began to issue its statements as a branch of ‘Saraya Al-Quds’, or the Jerusalem Battalions, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad.
The armed resistance model in Jenin resonated deeply with Palestinians in the West Bank, so much so that the same model was replicated in other northern West Bank cities, like Tulkarem, Tubas, and Nablus, where local brigades began to increase their armed confrontations against invading Israeli forces, which have grown in frequency and violence in recent years. In July 2022, Israel employed armed drones to strike Palestinian fighters in Jenin, in a first air strike in the West Bank in more than 20 years. Israeli raids included massive military bulldozers which destroyed the camp’s infrastructure, from water pipes, to electricity networks, to public monuments.
In an effort to combat the rise of these groups, the Palestinian Authority, which maintains security coordination with Israel, tried to persuade Palestinian fighters to give up their arms, in exchange for negotiating their amnesty with Israel and receiving sums of money and jobs in public service. Only a very small number of fighters took the offers, and the resistance groups grew in size and in experience.
On Sunday, Axios reported that the US asked Israel to allow military aid to the PA amidst its ongoing operation in Jenin. Both Arab and Israeli observers have considered the PA’s operation as an attempt to show its capacity to control the West Bank ahead of Trump’s coming into office, especially amidst Israeli reported preparations for “an extreme scenario” in the West Bank, which would include “the dismantlement of the PA and a wave of violence”, according to the Israeli daily ‘Israel Hayom’, quoting Israeli army sources.
According to other analysts, the PA acted after fears that Palestinian militants would draw inspiration from the collapse of the Syrian regime, and try to topple the PA. These speculations come despite the fact that Palestinian resistance groups have rarely initiated confrontation with PA forces, focusing their efforts primarily on confronting Israeli forces.
Analysis: How does the Jenin operation relate to Gaza?
The timing of the PA operation in Jenin can’t be dissociated from the reported advances in ceasefire talks in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, especially with reported pressure from Donald Trump to conclude a deal to free the Israeli captives in Gaza before his inauguration.
In the past few weeks, the PA has been holding talks with Hamas and the rest of Palestinian factions in Cairo, simultaneously to Hamas’s indirect talks with Israel to reach an agreement on the topic of administrating Gaza after the war. Both Hamas and Fatah, the ruling party of the PA, agreed on forming a technocratic, independent committee to receive and administrate reconstruction aid to Gaza, and oversee reconstruction efforts and daily affairs in the strip.
Meanwhile, PA president Mahmoud Abbas appointed the head of the Palestinian National Council, the highest representative body of the Palestinian people, as his successor to organize elections in case he might be out of the picture.
These steps are seemingly in line with repeated US demands to see “a revitalized Palestinian Authority,” in the midst of a complete absence of any real “peace” negotiations with Israel, which has largely affected the political legitimacy the PA, as Israel openly flaunts plans to annex the West Bank and vocalizes its blatant rejection of a Palestinian state.
On Sunday, Israeli sources reported that the heads of Israeli settlement councils in the West Bank presented a request to the Israeli cabinet before its weekly meeting, asking to implement the same model of action practiced by Israel in Gaza on the West Bank, particularly the forced displacement of refugee camps and large military operations against Palestinian resistance groups. Earlier last week, Israeli commentators on Israel’s channel 14 discussed publicly the possibility of implementing Gaza’s model in the West Bank, after seeing the images of Jenin fighters confiscating PA police vehicles.
With these developments, and in the midst of a loss of the PA’s political leverage, it seems that its leaders want at the same time to prove their capacity to control security in the Gaza Strip after the war, and in the West Bank in coming years under an annexation-friendly Trump administration.
The blindspot of the PA’s strategy, however, lies within internal Palestinian tensions, which will only rise as civilians in the West Bank – who are generally favorable towards armed resistance groups like the Jenin Brigade and unfavorable towards the PA – watch the confrontations play out in Jenin.
While the current show of force by the PA might buy it some time and relevance, it likely won’t give it back its the political strength it seeks, which it can only regain by supporting, both in word and action, a united Palestinian stand against Israel’s occupation and genocide. And in order to do that, it needs to have all Palestinians on its side – something that likely won’t be achieved with its current strategy in Jenin.
Why is PA cracking down on resistance groups in occupied West Bank?
The US wants Israel to help the PA clamp down on Palestinian resistance groups. But can the potential military aid help the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration stay relevant?
Kazim Alam
TRT/AA
The US wants Israel to help the PA clamp down on Palestinian resistance groups. But can the potential military aid help the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration stay relevant?
Kazim Alam
TRT/AA
17/12/2024
There has been a schism within Palestinian politics since October 2023 over whether to continue to pursue conciliation with Israel or revert to resistance. / Photo: AA
The US prodding of Israel to help the Palestinian Authority (PA) crack down on Palestinian resistance groups is unlikely to succeed and could even lead to further weakening of the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration in the occupied West Bank, analysts have said.
In a private request, the Biden administration has asked Israel to lift the ban on US military aid to the PA since the October 7, 2023, Hamas raid that triggered Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed over 45,000 people in just over a year.
The request by the US is meant to help PA security forces in their ongoing crackdown against the Jenin Brigades, a coalition of Palestinian groups engaged in resistance against Israel.
In the largest-ever operation being conducted by PA security forces in years, the administrative body is trying to regain control of Jenin and its refugee camp from members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah, Al-Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad and Qassam Brigades of Hamas.
The PA lost control of Gaza in 2006 when Hamas won the elections in the tiny enclave, now under Israeli siege.
Analysts, however, see the PA’s crackdown as a last-ditch attempt to stay relevant in the face of growing support for Hamas and other resistance groups, increasingly seen by Palestinians as the true representatives of their cause.
“If Israel has been incapable of preventing Palestinian resistance from regenerating itself for 75 years, then it would be really naive to assume that the current crackdown by the PA in Jenin is going to do that,” says Tahani Mustafa, senior analyst for Palestine at the International Crisis Group.
“The operation is not going to be sufficient enough to limit resistance. In one form or another, resistance will resurface,” she tells TRT World.
The PA forces have been clamping down on Jenin Brigades for many weeks, killing a commander and a 19-year-old cadre.
Quoting a Palestinian official, US publication Axios said the ongoing operation is a “make-or-break moment” for the PA.
Palestinians fighting in the Jenin camp accuse the PA of clamping down on resistance groups in the occupied West Bank at the behest of Israel.
The US wants Israel to approve the urgent delivery of ammunition, helmets, bulletproof vests, radios, night-vision equipment, explosive disposal suits and armoured cars to the PA.
The Palestinian security sector employs half of all civil servants, accounting for nearly $1 billion of the PA’s total budget, says Sami Al Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University.
The security sector alone receives around 30 percent of total international aid given to the Palestinians, including most of the funds coming from the US.
Palestinian women demonstrate against the PA security forces at the Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 17. Photo: Reuters
Why is Jenin important?
One of the 19 refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the Jenin camp was established on the northernmost edge of the territory in 1953 to house Palestinians who fled their homes during the 1948 Palestine War.
With one of the highest rates of unemployment and poverty among all refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the number of registered refugees in Jenin was 24,239 at the end of 2023.
Mustafa says Jenin has become the “epicentre” of the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.
There has been a “huge schism within Palestinian politics” since October 2023 over whether to continue to pursue conciliation with Israel or revert to resistance, she notes.
“These two positions have become intractable since October 7, 2023. Eventually, they were going to come to a head, and that’s what we’re seeing today in Jenin,” she says, noting that the PA’s popularity has seen the “worst decline” in its history.
The result of that divide is that many Palestinians now consider Hamas their “de facto leader” as opposed to the PA, which is sticking to the politics of conciliation with Israel, she says.
“Hamas is the only one that is really advocating or fighting for Palestinians on the international stage or against Israel, especially given how much the situation has deteriorated not just in Gaza, but also in the (occupied) West Bank. There is a threat to the PA’s power base there,” she says.
According to Dr Ahmet Keser of Hasan Kalyoncu University, Hamas has been getting increasingly popular among Palestinians even after Israel’s full-blown war on Gaza following the October 7 cross-border attack.
Divisions within the Palestinian groups may tear apart the Palestine state-building effort though, he tells TRT World.
“Sporadic structures having little influence within the international community will weaken any possibility of achieving the objective of a sovereign Palestinian state,” he says.
Why is PA clamping down?
The coalition of resistance groups in the Jenin camp is united in their opposition to the PA. The resistance coalition includes even the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed faction of the Fatah party that dominates the PA.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operates virtually independently from Fatah and cooperates with other resistance groups in the refugee camps in view of local considerations.
The resistance groups in Jenin consist of mostly “disenfranchised or disaffected Fatah youth”, which means the PA is losing its support base to groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, says Mustafa.
“The PA is definitely feeling a threat to its hegemony,” she adds.
Another complicating factor is the disagreement over the so-called administrative committee in Gaza, an Egyptian-brokered proposal that seeks to bring Fatah and Hamas together for the purpose of managing the civil affairs after the end of Israel’s genocidal war.
But the PA retracted its approval of the deal amid Israel’s rejection of any role for Hamas in the future of Gaza.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas fears that all money will be diverted to Gaza – and away from the occupied West Bank, where the PA is the partial administrative authority – if Gaza gets a separate administrative committee, says Mustafa.
“Gaza will become the political centre of gravity coupled with the potential of Israeli full annexation of the West Bank,” she says.
US president-elect Donald Trump might allow for some form of ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank, she says.
“That is a very real threat, which could signal the end of the PA.”
Dr Keser says the PA is trying to present itself as the sole and ultimate representative body of Palestinians by taking a clear-cut position against Hamas and other resistance groups controlling the Jenin camp.
But even if Israel distinguishes between the PA and Hamas for the time being to weaken the latter’s legitimacy and popularity, Tel Aviv’s long-term policy will remain the elimination of all Palestinian organisations, he says.
SOURCE: TRT World
Kazim Alam is a staff writer at TRT World.
There has been a schism within Palestinian politics since October 2023 over whether to continue to pursue conciliation with Israel or revert to resistance. / Photo: AA
The US prodding of Israel to help the Palestinian Authority (PA) crack down on Palestinian resistance groups is unlikely to succeed and could even lead to further weakening of the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration in the occupied West Bank, analysts have said.
In a private request, the Biden administration has asked Israel to lift the ban on US military aid to the PA since the October 7, 2023, Hamas raid that triggered Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed over 45,000 people in just over a year.
The request by the US is meant to help PA security forces in their ongoing crackdown against the Jenin Brigades, a coalition of Palestinian groups engaged in resistance against Israel.
In the largest-ever operation being conducted by PA security forces in years, the administrative body is trying to regain control of Jenin and its refugee camp from members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah, Al-Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad and Qassam Brigades of Hamas.
The PA lost control of Gaza in 2006 when Hamas won the elections in the tiny enclave, now under Israeli siege.
Analysts, however, see the PA’s crackdown as a last-ditch attempt to stay relevant in the face of growing support for Hamas and other resistance groups, increasingly seen by Palestinians as the true representatives of their cause.
“If Israel has been incapable of preventing Palestinian resistance from regenerating itself for 75 years, then it would be really naive to assume that the current crackdown by the PA in Jenin is going to do that,” says Tahani Mustafa, senior analyst for Palestine at the International Crisis Group.
“The operation is not going to be sufficient enough to limit resistance. In one form or another, resistance will resurface,” she tells TRT World.
The PA forces have been clamping down on Jenin Brigades for many weeks, killing a commander and a 19-year-old cadre.
Quoting a Palestinian official, US publication Axios said the ongoing operation is a “make-or-break moment” for the PA.
Palestinians fighting in the Jenin camp accuse the PA of clamping down on resistance groups in the occupied West Bank at the behest of Israel.
The US wants Israel to approve the urgent delivery of ammunition, helmets, bulletproof vests, radios, night-vision equipment, explosive disposal suits and armoured cars to the PA.
The Palestinian security sector employs half of all civil servants, accounting for nearly $1 billion of the PA’s total budget, says Sami Al Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University.
The security sector alone receives around 30 percent of total international aid given to the Palestinians, including most of the funds coming from the US.
Palestinian women demonstrate against the PA security forces at the Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 17. Photo: Reuters
Why is Jenin important?
One of the 19 refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the Jenin camp was established on the northernmost edge of the territory in 1953 to house Palestinians who fled their homes during the 1948 Palestine War.
With one of the highest rates of unemployment and poverty among all refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the number of registered refugees in Jenin was 24,239 at the end of 2023.
Mustafa says Jenin has become the “epicentre” of the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.
There has been a “huge schism within Palestinian politics” since October 2023 over whether to continue to pursue conciliation with Israel or revert to resistance, she notes.
“These two positions have become intractable since October 7, 2023. Eventually, they were going to come to a head, and that’s what we’re seeing today in Jenin,” she says, noting that the PA’s popularity has seen the “worst decline” in its history.
The result of that divide is that many Palestinians now consider Hamas their “de facto leader” as opposed to the PA, which is sticking to the politics of conciliation with Israel, she says.
“Hamas is the only one that is really advocating or fighting for Palestinians on the international stage or against Israel, especially given how much the situation has deteriorated not just in Gaza, but also in the (occupied) West Bank. There is a threat to the PA’s power base there,” she says.
According to Dr Ahmet Keser of Hasan Kalyoncu University, Hamas has been getting increasingly popular among Palestinians even after Israel’s full-blown war on Gaza following the October 7 cross-border attack.
Divisions within the Palestinian groups may tear apart the Palestine state-building effort though, he tells TRT World.
“Sporadic structures having little influence within the international community will weaken any possibility of achieving the objective of a sovereign Palestinian state,” he says.
Why is PA clamping down?
The coalition of resistance groups in the Jenin camp is united in their opposition to the PA. The resistance coalition includes even the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed faction of the Fatah party that dominates the PA.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operates virtually independently from Fatah and cooperates with other resistance groups in the refugee camps in view of local considerations.
The resistance groups in Jenin consist of mostly “disenfranchised or disaffected Fatah youth”, which means the PA is losing its support base to groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, says Mustafa.
“The PA is definitely feeling a threat to its hegemony,” she adds.
Another complicating factor is the disagreement over the so-called administrative committee in Gaza, an Egyptian-brokered proposal that seeks to bring Fatah and Hamas together for the purpose of managing the civil affairs after the end of Israel’s genocidal war.
But the PA retracted its approval of the deal amid Israel’s rejection of any role for Hamas in the future of Gaza.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas fears that all money will be diverted to Gaza – and away from the occupied West Bank, where the PA is the partial administrative authority – if Gaza gets a separate administrative committee, says Mustafa.
“Gaza will become the political centre of gravity coupled with the potential of Israeli full annexation of the West Bank,” she says.
US president-elect Donald Trump might allow for some form of ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank, she says.
“That is a very real threat, which could signal the end of the PA.”
Dr Keser says the PA is trying to present itself as the sole and ultimate representative body of Palestinians by taking a clear-cut position against Hamas and other resistance groups controlling the Jenin camp.
But even if Israel distinguishes between the PA and Hamas for the time being to weaken the latter’s legitimacy and popularity, Tel Aviv’s long-term policy will remain the elimination of all Palestinian organisations, he says.
SOURCE: TRT World
Kazim Alam is a staff writer at TRT World.
OPINION
Amid ashes and blood, the Palestinian Authority carves its claim on Gaza
With the unprecedented destruction in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority sees an opportunity to position itself as central to the strip’s future — once again prioritizing its survival over the liberation of the Palestinian people.
By Bana Abu Zuluf and Ameed Faleh
December 16, 2024 3
MONDOWEISS
MONDOWEISS
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas chairs a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in West Bank City of Ramallah, on February 18. 2024. (Photo: Thaer Ganaim/APA Images)
Antonio Gramsci’s famous words—“The old world is dying, the new world is struggling to be born; now is the time of monsters”—capture the grim state of Palestinian politics today. Among Palestinians, one of the most glaring “monsters” is the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The PA’s legitimacy has steadily eroded, particularly under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, who has clung to power since his presidential mandate expired in 2009. Once touted as an interim administrative body, the PA now functions primarily as an arm of Israeli occupation, prioritizing its survival over the liberation of the Palestinian people.
Its role in the West Bank has become one of containment and counterinsurgency, a betrayal that fuels widespread anger among Palestinians. Now, with the unprecedented destruction in Gaza, the PA sees an opportunity to position itself as central to the strip’s future governance—but this is less a strategy for unity and more a desperate bid for relevance.
The PA’s decay
The erosion of the PA’s legitimacy has been a slow but steady process. In a 2023 poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 62% of Palestinians called the PA a burden, while 68% said the Oslo process harmed Palestinian national interests. Corruption is rampant, with PA officials enriching themselves while ordinary Palestinians suffer. Much of its budget, funded by international donors, props up a bloated bureaucracy and security forces instead of addressing the needs of the people.
It is this international recognition of Palestine by countries such as Ireland, Norway, and Spain that lends the PA some semblance of legitimacy within the framework of the two-state solution. But this recognition rings hollow for many Palestinians, who see the PA’s reliance on donor funding as proof of its prioritization of foreign interests.
The PA’s so-called “security coordination” with Israel exemplifies this dependency. Presented as a measure to ensure stability, it has functioned as a mechanism to suppress Palestinian resistance. It targets dissidents and dismantles grassroots networks, leaving many to view the PA not as a representative of Palestinian aspirations, but as a collaborator in maintaining the occupation.
The West Bank offers a stark picture of the PA’s complicity. Its security forces regularly suppress protests, detain activists, and silence dissent, often violently. During Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the PA’s repression escalated further. According to the Committee for Political Prisoners, the PA had killed five Palestinians and arrested dozens more by the end of 2023. Just in the past week, the PA has launched a security campaign to uproot the resistance forces in Jenin. Dubbed “The Protection of the Homeland,” the campaign aims to “[restore] the camp from the grip of outlaws who disrupted the citizen’s daily life and deprived them of their right to access public services freely and securely.” Similarly, in 2008, the PA enacted a counterinsurgency campaign in Jenin titled “Smile and Hope” in order to neutralize the resistance under the guise of law and order.
These actions are justified by the PA as measures to maintain “law and order,” but in reality, they have emboldened Israel’s control over the West Bank. Rather than supporting the broader Palestinian struggle, the PA has entrenched the status quo.
Antonio Gramsci’s famous words—“The old world is dying, the new world is struggling to be born; now is the time of monsters”—capture the grim state of Palestinian politics today. Among Palestinians, one of the most glaring “monsters” is the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The PA’s legitimacy has steadily eroded, particularly under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, who has clung to power since his presidential mandate expired in 2009. Once touted as an interim administrative body, the PA now functions primarily as an arm of Israeli occupation, prioritizing its survival over the liberation of the Palestinian people.
Its role in the West Bank has become one of containment and counterinsurgency, a betrayal that fuels widespread anger among Palestinians. Now, with the unprecedented destruction in Gaza, the PA sees an opportunity to position itself as central to the strip’s future governance—but this is less a strategy for unity and more a desperate bid for relevance.
The PA’s decay
The erosion of the PA’s legitimacy has been a slow but steady process. In a 2023 poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 62% of Palestinians called the PA a burden, while 68% said the Oslo process harmed Palestinian national interests. Corruption is rampant, with PA officials enriching themselves while ordinary Palestinians suffer. Much of its budget, funded by international donors, props up a bloated bureaucracy and security forces instead of addressing the needs of the people.
It is this international recognition of Palestine by countries such as Ireland, Norway, and Spain that lends the PA some semblance of legitimacy within the framework of the two-state solution. But this recognition rings hollow for many Palestinians, who see the PA’s reliance on donor funding as proof of its prioritization of foreign interests.
The PA’s so-called “security coordination” with Israel exemplifies this dependency. Presented as a measure to ensure stability, it has functioned as a mechanism to suppress Palestinian resistance. It targets dissidents and dismantles grassroots networks, leaving many to view the PA not as a representative of Palestinian aspirations, but as a collaborator in maintaining the occupation.
The West Bank offers a stark picture of the PA’s complicity. Its security forces regularly suppress protests, detain activists, and silence dissent, often violently. During Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the PA’s repression escalated further. According to the Committee for Political Prisoners, the PA had killed five Palestinians and arrested dozens more by the end of 2023. Just in the past week, the PA has launched a security campaign to uproot the resistance forces in Jenin. Dubbed “The Protection of the Homeland,” the campaign aims to “[restore] the camp from the grip of outlaws who disrupted the citizen’s daily life and deprived them of their right to access public services freely and securely.” Similarly, in 2008, the PA enacted a counterinsurgency campaign in Jenin titled “Smile and Hope” in order to neutralize the resistance under the guise of law and order.
These actions are justified by the PA as measures to maintain “law and order,” but in reality, they have emboldened Israel’s control over the West Bank. Rather than supporting the broader Palestinian struggle, the PA has entrenched the status quo.
Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces patrol Jenin in the Israel-occupied West Bank on December 16, 2024. For more than a week, the northern West Bank city of Jenin has seen intense violence, after the PA, which coordinates security matters with Israel, had attacked and arrested several Palestinian resistance fighters. (Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images)
The Gaza gambit
The PA’s conduct in Gaza follows a long history of political opportunism. Since 2007, when Hamas took control of the strip, the PA has treated Gaza with disdain, cutting salaries, withholding essential services, and imposing punitive measures causing misery and immiseration. Now, in the aftermath of an Israeli onslaught, the PA is seizing the moment to reinsert itself into Gaza’s governance.
The strategy is not new. After the Second Intifada, the PA capitalized on international support for reconstruction by introducing donor-driven governance reforms and positioning itself as a stabilizing force. Figures like Salam Fayyad, hailed as technocrats, were promoted to satisfy international demands for “good governance.” Yet these efforts did little to address the underlying causes of Palestinian suffering: apartheid, settler colonization, and the lack of sovereignty.
A similar script is unfolding today, with Mohammad Mustafa’s appointment as prime minister. While the PA touts Mustafa’s technocratic credentials as a step toward revitalization, such moves primarily aim to reassure international stakeholders that the PA remains a viable partner for reconstruction and counterinsurgency.
The PA’s ambitions in Gaza are complicated by rival actors. Hamas remains a significant force, despite the devastation in the strip. It views the PA’s overtures as a veiled attempt to reassert control under the guise of reconstruction.
Adding to the complexity is Mohammad Dahlan, a former Fatah strongman backed by the UAE, who has positioned himself as a contender for influence in Gaza. Dahlan’s 2017 rapprochement with Hamas allowed him to channel Emirati aid into Gaza, boosting his popularity. Recently, he has positioned himself as an alternative to both Abbas and Hamas, branding Gaza’s future under the mantra of “No Abbas, No Hamas.” Dahlan’s UAE backing and ability to mobilize resources pose a threat to the PA’s plans for Gaza, while Hamas continues to resist both forces.
The Committee of Community Support
In the face of these challenges, the PA has turned to a new mechanism: the creation of a Committee of Community Support. This committee, formed in agreement with Hamas in order to establish the “political capital” necessary for a ceasefire in Gaza, is tasked with administering Gaza’s daily affairs—health, education, infrastructure, reconstruction, aid distribution, and border crossings—until elections or a governance framework is agreed upon.
This move reflects the PA’s attempt to establish itself as an indispensable actor in Gaza’s reconstruction. Yet, key issues remain unresolved, particularly concerning the role of Gaza’s security forces and the resistance factions. These omissions suggest the PA is testing the waters, with three potential scenarios in play:Regional Security Oversight: The PA may aim to establish a regional security force led by the UAE, as proposed by Israel, while sidelining Hamas through hidden agreements. Such a move could hint at a rapprochement between Abbas and Dahlan.
Monopoly on aid and reconstruction regime: By monopolizing aid and reconstruction, the PA might seek to weaken both Dahlan and Hamas, presenting itself as an indispensable partner for international donors. However, Gaza’s resistance factions and public opinion are unlikely to tolerate a PA-controlled security presence.
Bid for Political Clout: The committee could provide the PA with a much-needed boost in political relevance. By cooperating with Hamas on this limited basis, the PA may hope to quell internal dissent and present itself as a stabilizing force in Gaza’s reconstruction.
While these scenarios reflect the PA’s desperate bid for survival, its quest for legitimacy among Palestinians remains questionable.
What comes next?
Gramsci’s “time of monsters” is an apt metaphor for the PA’s current role. It is a creature of the Oslo era, sustained by the very forces that perpetuate Palestinian suffering. Its reliance on external actors, from donor nations to international recognition, ensures its survival even as it alienates the Palestinian people by acting as a proxy for Israeli security interests.
The stakes for the PA were best articulated by a Palestinian Authority official at the start of the aggression against Gaza, who stated that “this time, Israel must destroy Hamas, otherwise [the PA] is done.” It is through this logic of eliminating Hamas, while keeping the flimsy status quo afloat in the West Bank through coercion and coordination with Israel, that the Palestinian Authority is negotiating the terms of the “Gaza cake.” Attempting to sideline both Hamas and Dahlan while trying to win a faltering international legitimacy, has been the raison d’etre of the PA in the wake of October 7. Israel’s genocide, as such, strengthens the PA’s bargaining position in its negotiations with Hamas through the flattening of neighborhoods, assassinations of Gaza’s security forces, and the killing of the political and military leadership of the resistance.
Hamas, for its part, is aiming to have a say in the day after while recognizing that any post-ceasefire arrangement will differ from previous aggressions in Gaza. For Hamas, harm-reduction to both the people of Gaza and the autonomy of resistance remains a central issue to which it cannot give up.
Recent developments underscore this dynamic. Abbas’s appointment of Rouhi Fattouh as interim president in the event of his departure signals the PA’s focus on maintaining its structure rather than addressing its legitimacy crisis. This continuity may reassure international donors, but it does little to inspire confidence among Palestinians.
As Gaza’s future hangs in the balance, so does the broader trajectory of Palestinian politics. The PA’s attempts to assert itself in Gaza are unlikely to rebuild trust or address the root causes of the Palestinian struggle. Instead, they risk deepening divisions and perpetuating a system that prioritizes power over liberation.
The time of monsters cannot last forever. But whether the PA’s eventual collapse will pave the way for a unified resistance or new challenges remains uncertain. What is clear is that the Palestinian people are yearning for leadership that genuinely reflects their aspirations for freedom and justice—a leadership that is unlikely to emerge from the PA’s halls in Ramallah.
No comments:
Post a Comment