Washington asks Israel to supply PA forces in West Bank, claims local report

Israel’s Walla website has revealed that the US has asked Israel to approve the urgent supply of equipment and ammunition to the Palestinian Authority security forces, due to the large-scale security operation in Jenin, according to Palestinian, American and Israeli sources.

A PA official said that the US Security Coordinator, General Michael Fenzel, met with the heads of the PA security services before the operation to discuss their plans, and they in turn presented a list of the equipment they need urgently, reported Walla. The official pointed out that the equipment includes ammunition, helmets, bulletproof vests, communications devices, night vision equipment, bomb suits, and armoured vehicles. According to the website, a Palestinian source said that Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia support the PA’s operation in Jenin, because they do not want to see “an organisation similar to the Muslim Brotherhood or Iranian-funded control” over the PA. “The operation will result in either a victory or a defeat for the PA.”

Israeli reports on Sunday quoted assessments by the Israeli security establishment indicating that the situation in the West Bank is currently very fragile, pointing to the possibility of the collapse of the PA, which collaborates with the occupation authorities on security matters. According to Israel Hayom, the assessments confirmed that the situation in the West Bank is so fragile that there are fears that PA police officers could switch their loyalties.

The newspaper pointed out that last week, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defence minister and the National Security Council, demanding that the Cabinet be convened urgently due to the escalation in the West Bank and the fear of a “rapid and unexpected deterioration” that they must prepare for. Smotrich believes that armed groups could carry out a coup against the PA and then act against Israel. This is also why security mechanisms are being activated in Jenin, with an Israeli threat to enter the city and refugee camp if the problem is not addressed.

Israel Hayom newspaper said that PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s attempt to carry out a major security operation in an area where the Israeli army has previously operated — Jenin — could restore a sense of deterrence, if it ever existed, but it could also turn into a mockery that would affect the entire West Bank.

Fighting resumed on Sunday between the resistance groups and the PA security forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. A leading source in the Jenin Battalion, affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said that the PA security can do nothing more than what it has done over the past ten days, and that, “It wants to find a way out in order to claim that it has control over the camp.”

Al Jazeera Net quoted the source as saying that. “The Jenin Battalion is strong, and the security forces were unable to storm the camp. Instead, they remained stationed in the adjacent areas, after targeting civilians and children in a treacherous manner.” This comes at a time when Jenin and the refugee camp are on general strike in mourning after Jenin Battalion leader, Yazid Ja’ayseh, and a boy were killed yesterday by PA security forces. Schooling is taking place online. Ja’ayseh was killed along with several civilians when PA security forces carried out what they called “Operation Protect the Homeland”.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed that the PA security forces are acting according to the “Nablus model”, which involves them entering areas where the occupation army has already weakened the resistance infrastructure. The newspaper pointed out that it is official Israeli policy to maintain the stability of the PA and prevent its collapse, and that the occupation security forces are acting accordingly.

The events in Jenin camp began with the arrest of Ibrahim Tubasi and Imad Abu Al-Haija by the PA security forces earlier this month. The Jenin Battalion captured some PA vehicles as bargaining chips in demanding their release. Refusing to accede to the demand, the PA has sent a clear message that its goal is to end the legitimate resistance and force the resistance groups to hand over their weapons, a demand that has been rejected. The situation escalated with the killing of Ribhi Shalabi, 19, during PA security operations last week that surrounded Jenin Hospital and cut off electricity and water to the camp. A senior PA security officer resigned in protest at the young man’s killing.

Fighting between resistance fighters and Palestinian security forces are frequent in the cities in the northern part of the West Bank, especially Jenin and Tulkarm, coinciding with the ongoing invasions by the occupation forces, settler attacks and the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The PA security services are accused of arresting those wanted by the Israeli occupation, further complicating the situation in the occupied West Bank, which has witnessed a significant increase in the rate of attacks by the Israeli armed forces and settlers since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Attacks on Palestinians, their property and their sources of livelihood in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, have killed 811 people and wounded at least 6,450 since October last year.

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