Members of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces were among those killed in Jenin last week, as they fought alongside terrorists against Israeli security forces attempting to undertake a counter-terrorism operation in the city.
Palestinian politician Azzam Al-Ahmad, who is a member of the PLO Executive Committee and of Fatah’s Central Committee, claimed last week that the “very first martyr yesterday in the refugee camp was from the [Palestinian Authority] security forces and from Fatah”. Fatah – regarded as the moderate Palestinian political party – controls the Palestinian Authority. The senior PA official further claimed that the terrorist was the son of a Fatah leader within the city, and asserted that “many members of the security forces were also martyred”. His comments were broadcast on Al-Mashhad a UAE based TV network.
The Jenin Brigades, which was the target of Israel’s House and Garden Operation, is made up of young men affiliated to different political factions and terrorist groups inside Jenin including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s military wing.
The entrance of the city’s Refugee Camp is decorated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad flags alongside flags of the Palestinian Authority.
Fatah’s military wing took to the streets of Jenin on Saturday in a parade to showcase their power. The militants fired shots in the air, displaying their weapons alongside pictures of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas also visited Jenin on Wednesday – his first in 12 years – to lay a wreath for the “martyrs” killed in the Operation. “Jenin camp is the icon of struggle, steadfastness and challenge”, he remarked on his visit. The camp “stood against the aggression and sacrificed its people for the homeland”, he added.
