Dozens of families in Hebron have issued a statement calling for the PA to end its siege of Jenin camp and engage in dialogue with Palestinian fighters there.
The New Arab Staff
03 January, 2025
A member of the Palestinian security forces stands in a roundabout in the Jenin refugee camp on December 29, 2024 [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty]
Senior clan figures from Hebron province in the West Bank have publicly condemned the military operation being conducted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Jenin Camp.
They issued a joint statement following a meeting which brought together dozens of prominent Palestinian families on Wednesday.
The clan meeting took place amid the unprecedented violence between the Fatah-led PA's security forces and Palestinian fighters in Jenin and its refugee camp.
PA forces have been besieging the camp since 6 December, after the PA launched a "security operation" dubbed 'Protecting the Homeland'.
Attendees of Wednesday's meeting rejected the siege of Jenin camp and emphasised the "sanctity of Palestinian blood" after the killing of six civilians and six security personnel in Jenin in the course of the standoff which shows no signs of abating.
Fayez Al-Rajabi, a prominent figure among the Hebron clan families, told The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “We are treating what’s happening in Jenin from the standpoint that both sides are our family. Therefore, we must solve the dispute by calling for the good and forbidding wrongdoing, without siding with either party”.
He said the clans’ statement had been delivered to the PA’s security forces via mediation figures with close ties to them.
He also explained that previously circulated statements claiming that the Hebron clans supported the PA’s operation were not representative of the “general stance of the clans”.
This, he said, is what had prompted the public meeting, which was attended by over 1,000 people representing families from all over the province, and their decision to issue a clear, collective position.
Al-Rajabi pointed out that the PA was the party with the most capacity to resolve the problem, and therefore must take decisions which would spare further bloodshed, as what was occurring in Jenin was “unacceptable”.
“It isn’t permissible for the Jenin Brigades to shed the blood of the security services, nor for the services to shed the blood of the Jenin Brigades,” he said.
The clans’ statement read: “We reject […] anything that could be understood as our approval or endorsement of what the [PA] is doing in Jenin camp, and we condemn those who incite killing. The members of the security forces are our sons, and it hurts us to see them drawn into conflict with their brothers - the duty is to unify ranks against the occupation”.
On 24 December a Fatah-led demonstration was held in various towns in the province in support of the Palestinian security forces, and was attended by a number of prominent clan figures.
Abbas al-Junaidi, another senior clan figure in Hebron, said: “The positions of many Hebron clans have been falsified, with claims circulating that the people of Hebron have granted legitimacy to the killings happening in Jenin camp. This is a clear falsification of the tribal stance, and it never happened”.
He said Wednesday’s meeting had been held to “clarify the truth” through a recorded statement signed by “well-known figures and representatives from family councils”.
He said the clans had issued a call for the security services not to be drawn into political positions and urging for disputes to be resolved through dialogue “especially since we are under occupation, which requires us to stand united”.
Furthermore, he questioned the PA’s claim that it was targeting “outlaws”: “What kind of legal sovereignty are we talking about when we live under occupation and don’t have a real state? When the occupation attacks us, it doesn’t differentiate between anyone, so we have urged the PA to make dialogue the basis [for resolving the dispute]”.
He emphasised that what was needed was for the PA to "lift the siege on Jenin, end the military operation, and open the door to dialogue through calm discussions."
Moreover, he said many of those who had attended the march in support of the security forces had been put under significant pressure, with some even ordered to attend under threat of salary deductions if they had refused.
This article is based on an article that appeared in our Arabic edition by Malik Nabil on 2 January 2025. To read the original article click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment