The Israeli army has launched a fierce assault on havens of armed resistance in the West Bank ever since October 7. Its recent campaign against Jenin refugee camp mirrors the Israeli strategy in Gaza — a war against the resistance and the people.
The situation in Jenin “continues deteriorating” as it enters its third day under Israeli military siege; meanwhile, in Gaza, displaced Palestinians face frigid temperatures under heavy rainfall.
As leaders discuss extending the temporary truce, Israeli forces kill two children, including an 8-year-old boy, in the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, Gaza is still facing a grave humanitarian crisis, with children on the front line.
While the world’s eyes have been on Gaza, the Jenin Brigade is facing a new Israeli onslaught that aims to exhaust the resistance group through a war of attrition. Fighters in the Jenin refugee camp say they will not be defeated.
Israel has renewed its deadly onslaught on the armed Palestinian resistance in Jenin and Aqbat Jabr refugees camps, while in Gaza, another Palestinian was martyred during protests at Gaza’s border fence.
Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in separate incidents on September 5. Meanwhile, both Israel and the PA step up their attacks against Palestinian resistance fighters in the West Bank.
The West Bank has become a crucial front for the battle over political legitimacy among Palestinian factions as a new phase of armed resistance rises.
As the ruling power in Gaza, Hamas has had to balance its governmental responsibilities with its commitment to resistance. It has done so by delegating resistance to other factions and adopting the “unity of fields” strategy.
The protest was the latest in a number of anti-PA demonstrations by Palestinians in Jenin in recent weeks, marking yet another fissure in the deepening rift between Palestinians and the PA.
In a visit this week, Mahmoud Abbas hailed the Jenin refugee camp as an icon of resistance even as the PA continues imprisoning resistance fighters. But as a member of the Jenin Brigade once told Mondoweiss, “Ramallah will not see freedom” while the PA rules there.