A large security operation by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank city of Jenin has led the United States to ask Israel to approve an urgent delivery of military equipment to Palestinian forces.
This intervention, the largest in years, aims to regain control of the Jenin refugee camp, which has become a stronghold of militants affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. According to several Palestinian and American sources, these groups benefit from Iranian financing.
The operation was triggered after a series of serious incidents, including an armed parade of militants in vehicles stolen from security forces and a car bombing that injured three Palestinian police officers and two civilians. The current toll shows at least three militants killed, including a local Islamic Jihad commander, and around twenty injured.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas personally ordered the intervention, threatening to fire any security official who opposed it. The move reflects growing concern over what sources call the “Syria effect” – the fear that Islamist militants could overthrow the Palestinian Authority as rebels have tried to do in Syria.
The Biden administration, previously informed of the operation, requested authorization from Israel for an urgent delivery of equipment: helmets, bulletproof vests, night vision equipment and armored vehicles. This request concerns equipment whose delivery was approved last year but frozen after the Hamas attack on October 7.
“We and Israel are fighting the same enemy: Iran,” said a senior Palestinian official on condition of anonymity. “If the Palestinian security forces had enough weapons, the operation in Jenin would have already ended.”
The operation benefits from regional support from Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which fear a potential takeover of the PA by organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood or financed by Iran. Israel’s Defense Cabinet is currently reviewing the US request, a politically sensitive decision for Prime Minister Netanyahu.
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