Governor of Tulkarem: I could have tackled the armed groups here; Israel wouldn’t let me

TULKAREM, West Bank — Maj. Gen. Abdallah Kmeil says he has insisted to Israel that he is capable of containing local armed groups, but was told that the IDF’s Operation Iron Wall, a major counterterrorism effort in the West Bank that began in late January, would proceed even if he “arrested every single one of them.”

Speaking to The Times of Israel at his office in the capital city of the West Bank’s northwestern Tulkarem Governorate — home to 173,000 inhabitants — the governor of Tulkarem called the IDF operation “the result of a political decision” with “no connection to security concerns.”

An Israeli military official countered that his claims were “distorted and incorrect.”

Iron Wall was launched two days after the Gaza ceasefire went into effect on January 19. It began in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, a terror hotbed, and then expanded to refugee camps near Tulkarem and other locations.

Kmeil, the senior-most Palestinian Authority official in the Tulkarem area and head of PA security forces there, asserted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responding to pressure from his hardline coalition in carrying out the most aggressive West Bank military campaign in decades.

The armed terror groups that have formed in the West Bank’s refugee camps in the last few years have committed shooting attacks and planned larger attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, Kmeil acknowledged, but he also claimed the groups are more of a threat to the PA than to Israel.

Accusing Israel of deliberately weakening the PA over the years, Kmeil said that “Netanyahu transferred $30 million a month to [PA rival] Hamas” — an apparent reference to Qatari funding for the Gaza-ruling terror group, which was approved by the prime minister.

“Israel wants a weak PA,” he said. “A strong one means the PA is responsible for law and order, and Israel should not need to enter these areas.”

Almost the entirety of Kmeil’s short tenure as governor of Tulkarem has been enveloped by the IDF’s military campaign. Although he briefly held the post 11 years ago, Kmeil was removed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas less than a year later. He went on to serve as governor of Salfit for six years and held various roles in PA institutions before being reappointed as Tulkarem governor by Abbas on January 7. The IDF launched Iron Wall two weeks later.

“I’m new in town, and I started to take control,” Kmeil said. “Many of the wanted people turned themselves in. The Israelis themselves told me through the District Coordination Office that [launching Iron Wall] was a political decision and not a security one. The DCO told them that the governor is taking control and there are solutions, but they replied that even if every member of the armed groups is arrested by the PA, they will still enter,” he said.

Rejecting Kmeil’s claims, an Israeli military source said, “the IDF has carried out dozens of operations based on operational situation assessments to thwart terrorism… [and will] continue to act against terror infrastructure intended to harm the State of Israel.”

‘We were all extremists’

Palestinian media has reported that 13 Palestinians have been killed during the operation in the Tulkarem area, including a pregnant woman who was reportedly shot by the IDF while trying to leave the Nur Shams camp.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office stated, “Following the incident, an investigation by the investigating military police was opened. Naturally, it is not possible to elaborate on an ongoing investigation.”

“Is it a source of pride to shoot an eight months’ pregnant woman? Is this terrorism? Are these your enemies?” Kmeil asked.

Kmeil avoided condemning Hamas for the October 7, 2023, onslaught in which Hamas-led terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in southern Israel and kidnapped 251 to the Gaza Strip.

“The existence of the occupation is responsible for extremism; occupation leads to extremism. Israeli society has shifted to the right and to extremism, and the result is conflict,” he said.

However, he said he sees peace as “the only solution between us and the Israelis. Either there will be one state here — for Israelis and Palestinians — or two states. According to my information, Israel is willing to uphold Resolution 181 [the 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine] and not move toward a one-state solution, so there is only one solution left — a Palestinian state.”

“On the Palestinian side, there was more extremism in the past — we were all extremists. I was in prison in Israel, and we did not believe there could be peace with Israel. But the situation has changed, and people are changing.”

Kmeil was jailed in Israel as a teenager for several years in the 1980s due to his involvement in Fatah terror attacks against Israel.

Unprecedented evacuations

As part of the military operation, 25,000 people living in the refugee camps near Tulkarem have been displaced for the first time in the IDF’s history of operating in the West Bank. Many now shelter in nearby villages, schools, and mosques within Tulkarem itself.

The Times of Israel spoke with Marwan Abu al-Kbash, who lived in the Tulkarem refugee camp for over 30 years but was forced to leave when the operation began. He and his family now live in a sports center in the city of Tulkarem.

“Fifty days ago, they came to us — 45 soldiers — telling us to leave the house,” he said. “I told the soldier, ‘Give me five minutes; there are children here. I have 24 people in my family, including eight small children. Let me take some things.’ He told me, ‘Get out now.’ We spent that night with some people in Tulkarem. Later, there was a post on Facebook saying that displaced people could come here, and we’ve been here ever since.”

Abu al-Kbash, who used to work as a junk dealer, now struggles financially.

“Before this, I didn’t have high blood pressure or diabetes. But now — how do I go to someone and say I need 50 shekels? I’ve never had to say that in my life,” he said.

When asked about the armed groups controlling the camp, he replied: “They’re kids — 15, 16 years old. The PA should take them and give them jobs. These young men ask, ‘How will I support myself?’ So they take up weapons out of anger. They have no jobs. Someone offers them 10,000 shekels [$2,700] to shoot. It’s not about national struggle — it’s economic. If the Jews gave them work permits to cross, the problems would be solved.”

He also opposes the IDF operation: “If my son does something wrong, the PA should take him — not the Jews.”

Umm Ibrahim from the Nur Shams camp was also evacuated. Shortly before leaving, she confronted a group of armed men, cursing them.

“I told them, ‘Do they think they’re going to liberate Palestine this way?'” she said.

Her main concern now is when she will be able to return home. She currently lives in Kufr Abush, a village about 20 minutes’ drive from Tulkarem, closer to Qalqilya.

The army denies issuing evacuation orders in the West Bank. It said troops secure passage for those wanting to leave on their own accord.

Faisal Slame, the deputy governor of Tulkarem and the official responsible for displaced persons, told The Times of Israel that “Israel destroyed the camps.”

“Returning there now is impossible — it will take time to rebuild. There is no electricity, no water, no infrastructure. Many houses have been destroyed,” he said.

“[Israel] didn’t give us a chance to deal with the armed groups,” said Slame. “The PA is ready to enter the camps and restore order, but Israel didn’t give us that opportunity — they don’t want to.”