We have battalions in West Bank: PIJ chief

The Palestinian Authority is under pressure from the US and Israel to crack down on the growing West Bank resistance groups

By News Desk- July 02 2023

https://thecradle.co/article-view/26592/we-have-battalions-in-west-bank-pij-chief

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) chief Ziad al-Nakhala said in an interview released on 1 July that the Iran-sponsored movement was working to establish cells of fighters and strengthen the resistance throughout the occupied-West Bank.

The Times of Israel reported that in an interview with the Arabic-language Iranian newspaper Al-Vefagh, Nakhala said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was supportive of “moving from a state of calm to one of resistance” in the West Bank.

“The most important thing is that we strengthen the resistance,” Nakhala said.

“During our visit to Iran, during the meeting with His Eminence, the Leader, His Eminence reaffirmed [his desire] to advance arming the West Bank and resistance action in the West Bank.”

According to Nakhala, the PIJ has set up “fighting battalions” in Palestinian cities across the West Bank and is working on manufacturing explosives and distributing arms.

Last week, an unnamed Palestinian official told The Jerusalem Post that “Iran is already here, in the West Bank.”

Last month, the PIJ claimed responsibility for a large roadside bomb that wounded eight Israeli soldiers who were raiding the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Six Palestinians were killed during the raid and 100 injured.

In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that “all options are on the table,” in an apparent reference to carrying out a future operation to defeat the resistance in Jenin and Nablus.

The growth of new armed resistance groups has led Israeli and US officials to criticize the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and its security forces for allegedly losing control of the West Bank.

A Palestinian official who spoke to the Jerusalem Post denied this, claiming “We worked very hard to convince scores of gunmen to hand themselves over to the Palestinian security forces,” he said. “In Nablus, more than 36 gunmen have turned themselves into the security forces. Others agreed to hand over their rifles.”

“The Americans and other parties are fully aware of the efforts our security forces are making to enforce law and order in the areas under our control in the West Bank,” the official said. “In the past five months, we arrested several gunmen and confiscated 13 rifles.”

This in turn has led to accusations that the PA leadership collaborates with the Israeli army and helps perpetuate the occupation, colonization, and displacement Palestinians are suffering from.

The Post reported that in June, PA security officers arrested Falah Sawalmeh, a commander in an armed group in the Far’a refugee camp northwest of Nablus. The PA security forces have refused to release him until he hands over his M-16 rifle.

According to the official, the PA had convinced several members of the Lions’ Den armed group, which operates in Nablus, to hand over their weapons and remain inside PA security headquarters.

Musab Shtayyeh, one of the founders and leaders of the Lions’ Den, was arrested by the PA in September last year, triggering violent clashes between the group’s fighters and PA security forces in Nablus.