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Palestinian Authority–West Bank militias conflict
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, various local Palestinian militias have been engaged in armed clashes with the Palestinian Authority (PA), the self-governing administration of the region's Palestinian enclaves. The conflict is a result of the widespread unpopularity of the PA among Palestinians and the common perception that it is a collaborationist body subservient to Israel, the occupying power.[23][24][25] In turn, the PA accuses militants of being "bandits" and agents of instability.[25] The widespread discontent with the Palestinian Authority, along with multiple factors related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, sparked a mass spread of West Bank Palestinian militancy in the 2020s.[26] Initially rare, armed clashes between the PA's National Security Forces and local militant groups have significantly escalated during the ongoing Gaza war and its spillover into the West Bank. In December 2024, the largest and most violent fighting in the conflict erupted with a large-scale PA operation in Jenin.[27] OriginsPalestinian Authority loss of legitimacyIsrael has occupied the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) since 1967. After decades of conflict, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority was created in 1994 following the agreements of the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. Under the agreements, the PA was allowed to exercise partial civil control over the West Bank's Palestinian enclaves and over the Gaza Strip.[28][29] The Second Intifada of 2000–2005 saw the PA security forces directly engaging in combat against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). However, after Mahmoud Abbas came to power as president of the Palestinian Authority in 2005, the PA shifted towards authoritarianism and into a role of effective subcontractor to the Israeli occupation, and its security forces were restructured under United States training led by General Keith Dayton.[23][30][16] The PA administration over the Gaza Strip effectively ended in 2007 following the Battle of Gaza, which ended with Hamas controlling the Gaza Strip and setting up a separate government. That same year, Abbas signed a decree banning all militias;[31][32] the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, became effectively independent, but continues to be politically aligned with Fatah despite its rejection by the party's leadership.[31][33][34][35] Compared to the Second Intifada, less militant violence occurred over the following years.[26][2] 2021–2022 rise in militancyIn 2022, a significant "proliferation" of new armed groups in the West Bank was observed.[23] This spread of militancy has been attributed to a variety of factors:
Between 2021 and 2022, several new Palestinian militias in the West Bank were formed, including the Jenin Brigades, the Tulkarm Brigade, the Nablus Brigade, the Tubas Brigade, and Lions' Den.[26][36][42][43] By the end of 2022, Palestinian militias, many operating at least nominally under Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), had a heavy presence across the West Bank, and exerted de facto control over the Jenin refugee camp, the Tulkarm refugee camp, and the Nablus refugee camp.[26][2][7] TimelineJanuary 2022 – May 2024: first clashesOn 7 January 2022, the first documented armed clashes between militants and PA forces took place in Jenin and in the Balata refugee camp amid activists' protests against the PA. These were sparked by the violent arrest of Ahmed Zubeidi, son of Zakari Zubeidi, by PA police officers in Jenin.[44] A local militia commander said in response to the events that his men "would not remain silent" if PA forces continued to target the refugee camp.[45] On 19 September 2022, militants and security forces clashed in Nablus after the security forces arrested Musab Shtayyeh, a leader of Lions' Den and Hamas member.[20][25] Following more than 24 hours of fighting, both sides agreed to a ceasefire, with the PA saying it would not prosecute Shtayyeh.[46] Following an IDF raid into Jenin from 3 to 4 July 2023,[47] PA security forces launched a crackdown on PIJ in the city in the following days, detaining several militants.[48][1] On 16 July, security forces launched a raid into the town of Jaba', south of Jenin, against PIJ militants. The Al-Quds Brigades released a statement condemning the actions of the PA, and the Jenin Brigades called for mass demonstrations.[47] On 1 August 2023, security forces arrested two gunmen in Jaba', after which militants attacked the headquarters of the Jenin Governorate and clashed with security forces; clashes spread to the Jenin refugee camp, where security forces engaged in exchanges of fire with militants and stormed a local hospital. As the clashes were occurring, local mosques called on the PA through loudspeakers to release detained militants.[49] On 30 August, clashes between militants and security forces erupted in Tulkarm after security forces tried to remove barricades placed by fighters to obstruct IDF raids.[21] Start of the Gaza warWhile both Abbas and Fatah released statements criticizing the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023,[50][51][52] which began the ongoing Gaza war, West Bank militias and PA security forces did not clash in the context of the war until 2024.[23] After the war started, the IDF also stepped up its incursions into the West Bank; having a shared interest in countering militants, the PA security forces have simply remained in their barracks during IDF raids and have only targeted the militias.[7][1][53] In early January 2024, the Jenin Brigades claimed that the PA security forces assassinated two militants.[16] In February, militant forces in Tubas were deployed to confront an IDF raid, but were themselves confronted and pushed back by PA security forces.[16] On 2 March, security forces attempted to arrest a militant in the Jenin refugee camp, who managed to escape; this was followed by several hours of clashes between security forces and militants in the camp.[16] On 30 March, clashes erupted between PA security forces and militants in Nour Shams Camp, with militants targeting the headquarters of Tulkarm Governorate during the fighting; one militant was shot and later died from his injuries on 2 April.[17][54] On 2 May, security forces killed a PIJ militant affiliated with the Tulkarm Brigade and the Nur Shams Brigade in Tulkarm.[18] July 2024 escalationA major escalation[55] in the conflict between the Palestinian Authority and the militias occurred in late July 2024. Protestors and militants clashed with security forces in Tulkarm, Jenin, Bethlehem, Tubas, and Nablus. Both sides accused each other of wanting to start a civil war.[56][57] 26 July Tulkarm confrontationsThe wave of unrest began on 26 July, after the Tulkarm Brigade's commander, Abu Shujaa, was hospitalized at the Martyr Dr. Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarm after being injured by an explosive device.[58][59] Palestinian Authority security forces arrived at the hospital and encircled it after learning of Abu Shujaa's hospitalization, leading to armed clashes between the Tulkarm Brigade and the security forces in the area.[59] The Brigade and other Palestinian militias declared a state of high alert, and targeted the local headquarters of the security forces with heavy gunfire.[60] The Tulkarm Brigade, together with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, issued statements calling for the local population to mobilize and head to the hospital to lift the siege and prevent the arrest of Abu Shujaa.[60][59][61] A large crowd of Palestinian civilians arrived at the hospital in response, determined to obstruct the arrest operation.[60][62] The Palestine Chronicle published a video from inside the hospital showing protestors confronting security forces, which reportedly deployed tear gas and fired on them, resulting in several wounded.[63] Ultimately, the security forces withdrew from the hospital, and the crowd retrieved Abu Shujaa and escorted him to the Nour Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm.[60] Subsequent clashesOther clashes occurred elsewhere on 26 July. The Jenin Brigades attacked the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Jenin during the siege in Tulkarm.[64][65][66] Hours after the end of the siege, security forces in Tubas attempted to detain a member of the Tubas Brigade, and shot at him. They detained the militant's brother, who was released after an hour. The Tubas Brigade condemned this as an "assassination attempt" and referred to the security forces as puppets of the Shin Bet.[67] Later that day, a crowd of young protestors blocked roads in Tubas and began clashing with security forces, chanting slogans against them. The Tubas Brigade targeted the local headquarters of the security forces with gunfire.[67] A protest march also broke out in Bethlehem against the Palestinian Authority's actions in Tulkarm.[55][67] Protestors clashed with security forces and set fire to the gates of their local headquarters.[67] On 28 July, the security forces beat and arrested a boy who was protesting in Bethlehem.[68] On 29 July, security forces arrested a militant, and refused to release him after the Tulkarm Brigade demanded they do so, resulting in the Brigade targeting the government headquarters in Tulkarm with explosives.[56][69] On 30 July, fighting in Bethlehem escalated as security forces stormed the homes of local Fatah members and militants; Bethlehemi politicians belonging to Fatah threatened to resign en masse over the actions of the PA; additionally, dozens of gunmen apparently defected from the security forces.[70] On 31 July, clashes were reported in Jenin, Nablus, and Bethlehem.[71] By August, the unrest had been "contained", according to Tulkarm officials.[64] August 2024 – present: continued clashes and escalationsSince August, the rate of clashes between the militias and security forces began escalating once more. On 15 August 2024, security forces in Jenin detonated an explosive planted by Hamas before it could be used against Israeli forces. Following this, Hamas released a statement condemning the Palestinian Authority and claiming it was constantly targeting militants, confiscating weapons, dismantling explosives, and interfering with ambushes during Israeli incursions.[72][3] On 27 August 2024, the security forces arrested a militant in Nablus.[73] On 9 September, renewed fighting broke out between militants and security forces in the Jenin refugee camp after the latter dismantled an explosive near the camp entrance.[74][75] On 17 September, there were clashes after the security forces' arrest of a militant in Jenin.[76] The security forces also dismantled explosives in Kafr Dan near Jenin and attacked local civilians who came out to protest against their actions.[77] On 23 September, security forces arrested three militants in the Nur Shams camp, leading to subsequent exchanges of gunfire.[78][79] On 30 September, security forces pursued and shot militants in Tubas, leading to clashes between the two sides.[80][81][82][83] On 1 October, security forces in Nablus shot at and unsuccessfully pursued a local militant, who was killed hours later by the IDF during one of their raids into the city.[84][85] On 11 October, fighting was reported between security forces and militants in Silat Al-Harithiya, west of Jenin; fighters also targeted the PA headquarters in Jenin with gunfire.[86] On 4 November, PA security forces discovered and seized a rocket in the village of Budrus, near Ramallah, pointed in the direction of Israel, and are expected to hand it over to the IDF.[87][88] On 5 November, security forces in Tubas seized and detonated an explosive planted by militants that had been planted to target raiding IDF soldiers.[89] On 27 November, a militant stabbed two PA security officers in Hebron.[90][91] On 3 December, PA security forces opened fire on a grouping of militants in Tulkarm.[92] Tubas escalationPA security forces conducted an operation against militants in Tubas throughout October. The operation targeted the Tubas Brigade and was aimed at demonstrating that the PA was effective and capable of taking on militants.[12] Jenin escalationOn 5 December, PA security forces launched an operation against militants in Jenin,[93] which included the security forces' first large-scale incursion in several years into the city's refugee camp.[14] According to experts, it was to convince United States president-elect Donald Trump that it is a beneficial security partner.[94] The operation marks the largest and most violent confrontation that the PA has had with West Bank militants,[27][95] and analysts have referred to it as "the most fierce" inter-Palestinian fighting since the 2007 Battle of Gaza.[5] During the operation, multiple reports of human rights abuses committed by Palestinian Authority forces in Jenin have surfaced, and the PA has shut down Al Jazeera in the Palestinian enclaves for airing such reports.[96] Clashes between militants and security forces in response to the events in Jenin were also reported in Nablus and Tulkarm on 10 December 2024,[97] and in Tammoun, south of Tubas, on 24 December 2024.[98] Additionally, on 7 January 2025, three militants, including a founder of the Tulkarm Brigade, were wounded after PA forces opened fire on their vehicle in Attil, north of Tulkarm.[99] A similar PA attack against militants in Tulkarm occurred again on 12 January.[100] After a failed attempt at a truce with militants on 17 January,[101][102][103] PA forces withdrew from their positions as the IDF entered Jenin and launched their own raid on 21 January.[104][105][106][107] The next day, however, PA forces resumed attacks in Jenin, fighting alongside the IDF for the first time.[108] In Yabad, west of Jenin, on 24 January, PA forces arrested and beat up a number of militants; they also joined the IDF in minor raids in Ramallah, Tulkarm, Hebron, and Qalqilya.[109] AnalysisTactics of the Palestinian AuthorityThe security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been argued to be most visibly reflected in the so-called "revolving door" policy, in which militants and activists arrested by the PA security forces are "released" to be subsequently arrested by the Israeli authorities, and vice versa. The "revolving door" policy is said to highlight the shared interests of both the PA and Israel in suppressing the militias.[1] The Palestinian Authority has also sought to associate militants with criminality, with officials making unfounded accusations that many of the militants are from criminal backgrounds, and even sending impersonators of militants to exhort money from businesses as to tarnish their reputations. Collaborators are also recruited through offers of jobs in the security forces and with money.[25] Militants' attitudesWhile typically condemning the attacks of the security forces in public statements, the militias have also repeatedly attempted to present themselves as desiring to avoid confrontation with the Palestinian Authority in the name of Palestinian unity, despite the reality of the conflict, and focus solely on Israel.[25][16][7][22] Hamas has additionally stated that the PA security forces are meant to defend the Palestinian people against the IDF, and must start doing so.[110][111] See also
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Information related to Palestinian Authority–West Bank militias conflict |
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