PA makes deal with Jenin Battalion, ending standoff in northern West Bank city and camp

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Illustrative: Smoke rises during clashes between gunmen and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)
Illustrative: Smoke rises during clashes between gunmen and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

The Palestinian Authority has reached an agreement with the Jenin Battalion that will end over a month-long standoff in the northern West Bank city and adjacent refugee camp, a Palestinian official confirms to The Times of Israel.

The PA has been conducting a counterterrorism operation in Jenin since last month, targeting the so-called Jenin Battalion, which is made up of operatives affiliated with terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Ramallah has blamed Iran for funding and arming the Jenin Battalion and other armed factions throughout the West Bank. Fifteen Palestinians were reportedly killed throughout the operation, including six members of the PA security forces, eight civilians, and one terror suspect. A handful of Jenin Battalion members have also been arrested by PA forces.

The armed groups have gained significant prominence in the northern West Bank over the past several years, with the PA seen to have largely lost control over the area.

The PA launched its counterterrorism operation ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, as it seeks to demonstrate its ability to maintain stability in the West Bank.

Early on in the operation, the Jenin Battalion managed to steal a pair of vehicles belonging to the PA security forces, who subsequently intensified the raid of the refugee camp.

While the operation has continued, the sides have held negotiations aimed at reaching a truce under which the armed groups would hand over their weapons in exchange for immunity.

A deal was on the verge of being reached early this week, but talks blew up following a pair of Israeli airstrikes in the camp on Tuesday and Wednesday that killed 12 people including civilians, two Palestinian officials told The Times of Israel on Thursday.

The IDF had held off on conducting any strikes or raids in Jenin when the PA began its raid but ended that policy this week.

One of the Palestinian officials speculated that the decision was pushed by far-right elements in the Israeli military and government who don’t want the PA to succeed in its effort.

The official said the strikes may have also been designed to scuttle the brewing truce — something that Ramallah believes would significantly calm tensions in the northern West Bank.

The talks resumed later Thursday, and the sides managed to reach an agreement Friday evening, the official says.

The deal requires specific members of the Jenin Battalion to hand over their weapons and allows the PA to operate freely in the refugee camp, the Palestinian official says.

PA vehicles have already been filmed entering the refugee camp this evening with bomb-squad units to detonate explosives that the Jenin Battalion placed throughout the area to harm Israeli and PA forces.

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