Hamas, PA clash over Jenin anti-terror operation

PA accuses Hamas of sacrificing Gaza for Iranian interests.

By World Israel News Staff

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas are trading barbs, as the PA conducts an extensive anti-terror operation in Jenin, which has long been a haven for Hamas and its affiliated groups.

Hamas official Abdul Rahman Shadid blasted the PA in a media statement, claiming that the entity’s security forces were given “shoot-to-kill” orders and told to target Hamas terrorists.

Referencing an incident last week, which saw PA forces shoot three Hamas operatives in a vehicle, critically wounding one, Shadid said that the PA “issued instructions to liquidate and kill resistance fighters in the West Bank.”

Shadid added that the PA is “increasingly willing to shed Palestinian blood, as evidenced by the events in Jenin refugee camp over the past 38 days, during which nine Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed.”

The PA’s ruling Fatah party responded by warning Hamas that it will not allow the terror group to usurp power in any of its territory within Judea and Samaria.

In a media statement, Fatah stressed that “Hamas, which has jeopardized the interests and resources of the Palestinian people in favor of Iran and caused the destruction of Gaza” will never be permitted to “reproduce its activities in the West Bank.”

Notably, Fatah also emphasized that Hamas regularly uses civilians “as human shields, instead of protecting them and their homes.”

Fatah pointed the finger at Iran, saying that they would not lend a hand to Tehran’s “expansionist ambitions to turn Palestine into an area of influence, even at the cost of the blood of Palestinian children.”

The media back-and-forth comes as the PA’s security forces have been carrying out a massive raid in Jenin, aimed at rooting out terror groups from the city.

The clashes have seen gun battles in the streets of the city, between armed terrorists and PA police.