Fearing Hamas coup, PA battles terror groups in Jenin

Palestinian Authority forces kill Jenin Brigades terrorist, sparking condemnation from Hamas.

By World Israel News Staff

The Palestinian Authority’s security forces launched a deadly counterterror operation in Jenin against the backdrop of fears that Hamas is gearing up for a coup that would wrest control of territory from the PA.

On Saturday, intense gun battles were reported in the city, long known as a hotbed for terror, as PA forces targeted local terror groups.

PA spokesperson Brigadier General Anwar Rajab said that the raid, dubbed “Operation Protect the Homeland,” aimed to “eradicate sedition and chaos” within PA-administered enclaves in Judea and Samaria.

“These [terror] groups do not represent the nation, and they operate…outside of morality and the historical and national struggle of the Palestinians. Behind these groups stands a force that aims to harm Palestinian stability and the peace of the residents,” Rajab staid in a statement on Saturday.

“Unfortunately, we are facing a group that has sold itself for cheap material benefits and is carrying out ISIS-like acts that do not represent the Palestinian people.”

According to Arabic-language reports, the PA security forces “stormed” Ibn Sina Hospital, surrounded another medical center, and searched ambulances, apparently in an attempt to detain terrorists who had been wounded in the firefights.

The commander of the Jenin Brigades terror group, Yazid Ja’ayseh, was said to have been killed in the clashes.

The PA is reportedly withholding Ja’ayseh’s body from his family, presumably out of concern that a mass funeral for the slain terrorist would spark further unrest.

Hamas, which is allied with the Jenin Brigades, condemned the killing of the “martyr leader” as “shameful,” warning that his death would “fuel internal disputes.”

The Popular Resistance Committee, an umbrella group of terror organizations, slammed the PA in a statement about Ja’ayseh’s killing.

His slaying constitutes “a serious violation of all national norms and traditions,” the group said, claiming that the PA was acting “in line with the Zionist agenda that aims to eliminate the resistance in the West Bank.”