By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

On Sunday, Palestinian media reported renewed clashes between Resistance groups and PA security forces in the Jenin refugee camp. 

The spokesperson for the Jenin Battalion – part of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement – has accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces of seeking to eliminate resistance in Jenin and its camp in the northern West Bank. 

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, the commander emphasized that the group’s focus remains solely on resisting the occupation and rejected any attempt to disarm them, calling such efforts futile.

“No one can disarm the resistance in Jenin except the Lord of the Worlds,” he reportedly said.

The spokesperson reiterated support for the enforcement of laws but wondered: 

“Where is the law during the occupation army’s raids on the cities and villages of the West Bank?”

On Sunday, Palestinian media reported renewed clashes between Resistance groups and PA security forces in the Jenin refugee camp. 

Jenin under Siege – Renewed Clashes between Resistance Fighters, PA Forces

A senior member of the Jenin Battalion criticized the PA for attempting to assert control over the camp by targeting civilians instead of confronting the Resistance directly.

Saturday saw the culmination of the PA’s so-called ‘Protecting the Homeland’ operation, which led to the killing of Yazid Ja’ayseh, leader of the Jenin Battalion, and a 13-year-old child. 

These actions have sparked heightened tensions, with the Resistance rejecting PA-led initiatives that demand fighters surrender their weapons. Instead, they called on the PA to protect Palestinians from Israeli forces and armed settlers.

The violence in the Jenin camp began earlier in the month after the PA detained Ibrahim Tubasi and Imad Abu al-Haija, prompting resistance forces to seize PA vehicles to demand their release. 

The PA dismissed these demands, reiterating its intent to dismantle Resistance infrastructure and confiscate weapons, which Resistance leaders vehemently opposed.

Message to Trump

Palestinian journalist and editor of the Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud, had argued in a short video earlier on Sunday that the PA’s ongoing attacks on Jenin are linked directly to Washington, namely the PA’s desire to assert itself as a reliable partner to Israel in the West Bank. 

A few hours later, a report published by the American news website Axios confirmed that analysis saying that the Palestinian Authority ordered the operation “to send a message to the incoming Trump administration that the Palestinian Authority is a reliable partner”.

Axios quoted a Palestinian official as saying that this is “a pivotal moment for the Palestinian Authority — either act like a state you say you are or go back to being a militant organization”.

According to the report, 

“The Biden administration asked Israel to approve U.S. military assistance to Palestinian Authority security forces for a wide-ranging operation the PA is conducting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian”.

Additionally, Axios cited US and Palestinian officials as saying that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “ordered the heads of the Palestinian security services to launch an operation in Jenin and take control of the refugee camp.”

“Abbas’ aides briefed the Biden administration and President-elect Trump’s advisers in advance of the operation,” the report noted, adding that “U.S. security coordinator Gen. Mike Fenzel met with the Palestinian security chiefs ahead of the operation to go over their planning”.

(PC, AJA)