In a Shift, It’s the Palestinians Who Are Now Trying To Fight Terrorism in the West Bank

Troops are raiding a major hospital, seeking Palestinians who have turned it into a terrorist headquarters. Two teenagers are killed, as well as a terror chief. Normally such events would lead to worldwide condemnations of Israel. In this case, though, the troops are Palestinian. Skirmishes at the northern West Bank started over the weekend, as the Palestinian Authority launched raids to take control of Jenin. The battle is part of tectonic Mideast shifts that could have ramifications in Gaza and beyond, including for President-elect Trump’s hopes of Saudi-Israeli peace. For a third day, Jenin is under siege, surrounded by security forces operating under orders from the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. Israel Defense Force special units, which have long conducted “Fauda”-like anti-terrorist raids there, have stepped aside, allowing the Palestinian forces to attempt a takeover.The Palestinian Authority “should have done this three years ago at minimum,” the editor of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Long War Journal, Joe Truzman, tells the Sun. “Now they’re doing it, which is good I suppose, but I wouldn’t hold my breath that they’re going to be successful.” Widely unpopular in the West Bank, the 89-year-old Mr. Abbas is attempting to strengthen his standing at Washington and Jerusalem. President Biden is asking Israel to provide assistance to his forces. Israeli security officials are reportedly concerned that extremists inspired by the fall of the Syrian regime would topple the Authority.The Jenin refugee camp operation is meant “to enforce the law and order and to save the people in Jenin from the chaos they are living in,” the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, Mohammad Mustafa, said Monday. “What is happening inside the refugee camp reflects on the entire country.”The so-called “camp” is in fact a sizable Jenin neighborhood where Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have united under the name Jenin Brigades to fight Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Joining them are the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is affiliated with Mr. Abbas’s own Fatah party.Beyond the halls of the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority all but disappeared since its Hamas rival launched a region-wide war on October 7, 2003. The three-day battle of Jenin could change all that. It widened Monday as protesters across the West Bank marched against the Palestinian Authority. At least three people have been killed at Jenin so far, including two boys of 13 and 19. The PA forces sought armed men inside Jenin’s Yazid Ja’aysa hospital. A top Brigades commander, Yazid Ja’aysa, who has long been sought by Israel, was also killed Saturday.Ramallah’s sudden anti-terror push — after years in which it has declined to confront the northern West Bank militias — coincides with intensified talks to end the Gaza war and release 100 hostages there. If successful, it could bolster the Palestinian Authority’s claim for a leading role in post-war Gaza. Mr. Abbas reportedly informed the Biden administration in advance of the Jenin operation. The White House then leaned on Jerusalem to supply arms and military equipment to the PA forces. Will Ramallah persist, though? “The Palestinian Authority is trying to demonstrate that they can do this,” Mr. Truzman says. “They can kill a few terrorists. They may be able to dismantle some of the infrastructure, or seize a few car bombs. But what they need to do is maintain their presence, and this is what has been lacking for a long time.” Washington’s coming power change might have further pushed Mr. Abbas to act now, as new regional developments are widely expected. Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was at Riyadh over the weekend, meeting with top Saudi officials, including Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. Trump has said that Saudi-Israeli peace would be one of his top regional goals.MbS, as the crown prince is known, has said Israel would need to endorse a Palestinian state, at least in principle, before a peace can be finalized. As Riyadh does not expect Jerusalem to appease Hamas or the Jihad, the Palestinian Authority is the top candidate to rule such a state. Mr. Abbas needs to prove to the Saudis that he is worthy of their financial support.Some of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leading coalition partners are threatening to leave him if he accepts a Palestinian state. Israel’s wariness, though, is deeper than just Jerusalem’s internal politics. Mr. Abbas’s government unpopularity could topple the PA. And as a likely bloody succession of the aging Mr. Abbas looms, extremists could take over.For now, the battle of Jenin might show the real strength of the Palestinian Authority forces. Losing to the terrorists could further erode Ramallah’s standing in the West Bank and Gaza. It could also put the nail in the coffin on world-wide hopes for a future Palestinian state living in peace with its neighbors.

In a Shift, It’s the Palestinians Who Are Now Trying To Fight Terrorism in the West Bank

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