Tensions have been running high in the occupied West Bank after the PA arrested several militants earlier this month [Getty]
Clashes between Palestinian (PA) security forces and Jenin Brigades fighters continued on Sunday afternoon in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, amid a broader crackdown by the PA.
Local sources cited by the New Arab‘s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said the clashes have continued intermittently for days.
The sources said shops had been closed in protest against the violence, and relatives of those killed by the security services had taken to the streets to rally against the crackdown.
Tensions have been running high in the occupied West Bank after the PA arrested several militants earlier this month. The fighting has also seen the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade – the armed wing of the PA’s dominant faction Fatah – take on the security services.
Palestinian Authority (PA) forces surrounded the camp and raided it, killing Jenin Brigades commander Yazid Ja’ayseh on Saturday.
Earlier this week, PA security forces admitted to killing 19-year-old Rahbi Shalabi, after initially claiming he had been beaten to death by “lawbreakers”.
Armed factions in the camp accuse the PA of doing Israel’s bidding by cracking down on resistance groups.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa visited Jenin on Saturday in a show of support for the PA forces in the area.
“This situation cannot be allowed to continue. It is unfortunate that we now need to deploy security forces to impose order,” Mustafa said. “But we will not watch our country destroyed and be silent.”
On the same day, protests took place in several towns an camps, including in Tulkarm, Tubas and Jenin in support of the resistance groups.
Jenin has long been a hotbed of resistance against the Israeli occupation, with regular raids carried out on the city by Israeli forces.
In August, Israeli forces besieged and raided the camp for 10 days, killing dozens of Palestinians.
