Palestinian security forces try to extend control over the restive West Bank, by Reuters

Written by Ali Sawafta and James MacKenzie

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian Authority security forces have been battling Islamist fighters in Jenin for days as they seek to gain control of one of the historic centers of militancy in the West Bank ahead of a potential shake-up in Palestinian politics after the Gaza war. war.

Palestinian Authority forces, which exercise limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, moved to Jenin in early December, and have since clashed with fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

At least three people were killed, including a senior Islamic Jihad commander and two civilians. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for an investigation into what it described as violations of human rights law by Palestinian forces.

Heavily armed Palestinian security forces in armored personnel carriers set up checkpoints around the city and outside the neighboring refugee camp, where residents staged repeated protests against the operation.

Residents say the behavior of the Palestinian Authority security forces is similar to the way the Israeli army traditionally behaves in Jenin. The city and refugee camp have long been a center of Palestinian militancy, where fighters have clashed with Israeli forces that have launched large-scale raids that have left devastating effects on roads and infrastructure.

“The Palestinian Authority does not have bulldozers like the (Israeli) army. This is the only difference. The raid is the same, the siege is the same,” said Malek Jaber, a Jenin resident.

Brigadier General Anwar Rajab, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, said that the “outlaws” who took control of the Jenin camp have been arrested and will be brought to justice. He added that the operation aims to impose order and security and will continue until the goals are achieved.

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa, who visited Jenin with Palestinian security leaders over the weekend, said that the operation must restore security “on the path towards establishing an independent state.”

However, the operation sparked strong opposition in Jenin and violent clashes occurred in other cities in the West Bank, including Tubas in the Jordan Valley and Tulkarm in the north.

“Prove your worth”

Hani Al-Masri, a Palestinian political analyst in Gaza, said the timing of the operation is a sign that the Palestinian Authority must “prove its worth” as it seeks to maintain its role in the West Bank while preparing for a possible future role in Gaza. Ramallah.

The Palestinian Authority was established three decades ago under the interim Oslo peace agreements and was granted limited authority in the West Bank and Gaza, where the Palestinians hope to establish an independent state. It was expelled from Gaza by Hamas in the 2007 civil war.

Since the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas-led militants, Israel has vowed to expel Hamas from Gaza. Israel says it also believes the Palestinian Authority should have no role in Gaza after the war, but most Western and Arab countries say Gaza should be run by Palestinians and expect the Palestinian Authority to have a role.

Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer and one of Israel’s leading experts on Palestinian affairs, agrees that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to show strength now, before the expected post-war settlement.

“There is widespread pressure on him to do something if he wants to be considered an important player the next day in Gaza,” Milstein said.

He pointed out that the Jenin operation also comes in the wake of the ceasefire in Lebanon, the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, events that leave the future of the region unstable.

Israel accuses the Palestinian Authority of failing to control armed groups in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Authority says Israel, which has military control over the area, is deliberately working to undermine its authority.

Palestinian Authority officials say one of the goals of the operation is to prevent Hamas and Islamic Jihad from establishing the kind of rule in the West Bank that would open the way for Israel to destroy Gaza.

Despite efforts to achieve reconciliation, Fatah, the main faction behind the Palestinian Authority, has so far failed to agree with Hamas on how to govern Gaza after the fighting.

(Reporting by James MacKenzie from Jerusalem; Editing by Howard Goller and Peter Graff)