PA security forces kill Islamic Jihad commander, sparking clashes in Jenin
Amid larger crackdown against terror groups in West Bank, PA general says his forces ‘thwarted a disaster’ by stopping car bombing aimed at Palestinian civilians and PA forces
Palestinian Authority security forces killed a commander of the Islamic Jihad terror group’s Jenin Brigade early Saturday morning, sparking clashes in the West Bank city, Palestinian media reported.
Gunshots and explosions could be heard in the city and PA forces set up checkpoints around the city, that has been a hotebed for terror groups in recent years.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander was named in the reports as Yazid Jaysa, who is said to have been wanted by both the PA and Israel. There was no immediate confirmation from Islamic Jihad.
The operation was part of a larger PA crack down against terror groups in Jenin, which the PA says is to restore security and stability to the area and comes as Ramallah appears to be trying to signal that it could play a significant role in managing a post-war Gaza Strip.
Brigadier General Anwar Rajab of the PA’s security forces confirmed the reports, and told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa that his forces “thwarted a disaster in Jenin camp, by containing a booby-trapped vehicle prepared by outlaws.”
Rajab said that the vehicle “was supposed to be detonated among citizens and security personnel, as part of a cowardly criminal act that reflects an ISIS approach alien to our Palestinian values and morals and contradicts the course of our national struggle.”
Rajab added that a previous car bomb had detonated in recent days injuring a number of civilians and members of the security services.
#BREAKING Palestinian Authority’s security forces have begun an operation in Jenin refugee camp against armed factions to “restore order”, in a rare action against rival groups pic.twitter.com/ShrPD1xtLQ
— Guy Elster (@guyelster) December 14, 2024
Hamas condemned the PA for the Jenin operation and its allied group Islamic Jihad called for a day of protests.
On Monday, during another PA operation in Jenin, Palestinian security forces killed a 19-year-old Palestinian man named Rahbi Shalabi. The PA initially blamed his death on “lawbreakers,” but said on Thursday that after an investigation into his death, the PA “bears full responsibility” for the incident.
????BREAKING: The Palestinian security forces have initiated a large-scale operation in the Jenin refugee camp, north of the West Bank, aiming to eliminate Hamas and Islamic Jihad armed militias.
Last week, these militias set fire to the Jenin Governmental Hospital and detonated a… pic.twitter.com/qG7f2yqzKR
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) December 14, 2024
Last week, armed men seized two official PA vehicles and paraded through the Jenin refugee camp waving flags of the Islamic Jihad group, which is allied with Hamas. There were then gunfights in the area.
The clashes between local terror operatives and PA forces have added to the already soaring violence in the West Bank, with Israeli military raids and settler attacks increasing since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in southern Israel triggered the ongoing war.
Since then, Israeli troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the PA health ministry, more than 716 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 42 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
