| Operation Protect the Homeland | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of thePalestinian Authority–West Bank militias conflict and theMiddle Eastern crisis (2023–present) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Palestinian AuthoritySupported by: Pro-PA civilian protestors[1] United States[2] Israel[a] |  Palestinian Islamic Jihad Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades HamasSupported by: Anti-PA civilian protestors Iran[12][13] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mahmoud Abbas Nidal Abu Dukhan[14] | Yazid Jaayseh † Qais al Saa’di[12] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Jenin Brigades[b] | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~300 personnel[4] | ~200 militants[19] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 security officers killed[20][12][16] Several security officers injured[2] 2 intelligence officers killed[21][15] 1 presidential guard killed[12] 3 police officers injured[2] | At least 9 militants killed[13][22] 20+ militants injured[23] | ||||||
| At least 8 civilians killed[24] 20+ civilians injured[2] 10,000 civilians temporarily displaced[25] | |||||||
On 5 December 2024, thePalestinian Authority (PA) began a large-scale operation in theWest Bank city ofJenin against theJenin Brigades, alocal Palestinian militia.[26][27][15][28] The PA called it "Operation Protect the Homeland"[c] and said it was launched in order to "eradicate sedition and chaos" in the West Bank,[28] portraying militants as agents of instability that are indirectly aiding theIsraeli far-right, which has sought to weaken the PA.[29][13]
The operation marked the largest and most violent confrontation that the PA has had with West Bank militants,[30][31] and analysts have referred to the events as "the most fierce"inter-Palestinian fighting since the 2007Battle of Gaza.[32] It also marked the first time in several years that PA forces conducted a large-scale incursion into the militant-controlled[17][33][34]Jenin refugee camp,[35][8] where most of the fighting has been concentrated.
During the operation, multiple reports of human rights abuses committed by Palestinian Authority forces in Jenin surfaced, and the PA shut downAl Jazeera in thePalestinian enclaves for airing such reports.[36]
On 17 January 2025, the Palestinian Authority reached a deal with the Jenin Brigades for ending the standoff in Jenin and its refugee camp.[37] The deal failed as fighting resumed two days later.[38][39] On 21 January, the operation effectively came to a halt, when PA forces withdrew from their positions as theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) begana major raid on the Jenin camp.[8][9][10][11]
Since 2022, there has beenan ongoing armed conflict between the Palestinian Authority and local anti-Israel militias, which has escalated during the ongoingGaza war. The Palestinian Authority, which autonomously governs the Palestinian enclaves of theIsraeli-occupied West Bank, has been frequently characterized as a partner ofIsrael and complicit in the occupation.[40][41][42]
The PA, widely perceived as ineffective,[43][44] has been also been seeking to bolster its credibility as an administration capable of strong governance and suppressing militants. The PA also seeks to improve the chances of an outcome to the ongoingGaza war where it governs theGaza Strip.[26] Similar aims motivated the PA duringits earlier operation into Tubas in October 2024;[45] its success in that campaign emboldened it to conduct the operation against the Jenin Brigades.[46] Finally, the PA has feared that West Bank militias may be inspired by the rapid December 2024fall of the Assad regime in Syria and aim to topple the PA.[2]
Jenin has historically been a hotbed of conflict between Palestinian militants and Israel, and the city's refugee camp has especially been a militant stronghold.[47] The Jenin Brigades formed in the city in 2021 and has engaged in confrontations with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The semi-autonomous Brigades operate simultaneously under three militant factions:Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, andHamas.[18][48][1]
Clashes broke out between thePA security forces and militants in Jenin after the former arrested several wanted militants in the city. During the clashes, militants seized two vehicles belonging to the security forces, which were later seen paraded around Jenin.[49][2]
Militants detonated a car bomb near a police station, wounding threePalestinian policemen and two civilians. Following the bombing, PA presidentMahmoud Abbas reportedly ordered security forces to take control of the Jenin refugee camp and threatened to fire reluctant security officials. The PA also contacted theUnited States, briefing theJoe Biden administration and advisers of Americanpresident-electDonald Trump about their plans and requesting military assistance.[2]
PA security forces launched a large-scale incursion into the Jenin refugee camp for the first time in several years, seizing and dismantlingIEDs and detaining several militants.[35]
Mahmoud Abu-Talal, a local militant commander, was seen leading a demonstration calling for the overthrow of the Palestinian Authority.[35]
Israeli media reported that Abbas ordered security forces not to leave Jenin until they "resolve the situation", and that Israel warned the Palestinian Authority that the operation was "proceeding too slowly and on too small a scale".[50]
Brigadier General Anwar Rajab, a spokesman for the PA security forces, formally announced the operation and vowed that the PA would regain control of the Jenin refugee camp.[51] Rajab also compared local militants toISIS.[26][52]
Security forces operating in the Jenin camp killed Yazid Jaayseh, a commander of the Jenin Brigades.[28][51] Security forces also set up checkpoints,[47] besieged the Jenin Government Hospital, stormed Ibn Sina Hospital, and were detaining and searching ambulances.[28] PA snipers were deployed on some buildings in the camp.[53]
That night, civilians demonstrated in favor of the Jenin Brigades, and security forces stationed near the city's Shifa Hospital opened fire on the crowd, causing injuries.[54]
UNRWA announced the suspension of its services in the Jenin camp on account of the fighting.[53][55]
The United States asked Israel to urgently approve a supply of equipment and ammunition for the PA forces operating in Jenin.[56]
The Palestinian Authority claimed its security forces had made significant advances in the Jenin refugee camp, and that half the camp was now under operational control.[57]
The residents of Jenin also undertook a general strike in protest of the operation.[58]
An unnamed commander of the Jenin Brigades reported that attempted negotiations with the security forces ended in failure.[59][60]
PA security forces forcibly removed protestors who were demonstrating against the operation.[61]
UNRWA reported that it no longer had control over its Jenin health center due to the presence of "Palestinian armed actors".[62]
Fatah, the party that governs the Palestinian Authority, announced its decision to ban the Qatari media networkAl Jazeera from operating in the West Bank and condemned it for "incitement" during its coverage of the operation.[63] Fatah accused Al Jazeera of sowing division "in our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular," and called on Palestinians to avoid cooperating with the network.[64]
PA forces implemented the ban on Al Jazeera, with PA police raiding their office inRamallah and handing over a suspension order.[65][36]
The Jenin Brigades reportedly managed to seize anRPG from PA forces that retreated from a residence in the Jenin camp.[66]
The Jenin Brigades targeted PA forces withdrawing from the entrance to Jenin with gunfire and anIED.[67]
Jenin Brigades members carried out theal-Funduq shooting against three Israelis and then returned, undetected, to the Jenin camp; the attack was meant to be a message to the PA– that it could not stifle militants' reprisals against the Israeli occupation.[68]
AnIsraeli Air Force aircraft bombed the Jenin camp, killing six Palestinians, including civilians[6] and at least four militants.[22] It marked the first time the IDF has targeted the refugee camp amid the PA siege.[69] The PA itself condemned the airstrike as a disruptive interference with their operation.[7]
The Jenin Brigades said that it accepted an initiative for ending Palestinian infighting.[70]
The IDF launched a second airstrike on Jenin,[71] killing six Palestinians, including at least one militant,[22] as well as civilians.[6]
The Palestinian Authority and the Jenin Brigades reached an agreement to end the fighting, following the resumption of negotiations a day before and an extensive meeting between militia representatives, community leaders, and security officials. The deal requires specific members of the Jenin Brigades to hand over their weapons, allows the PA to operate freely in the Jenin refugee camp, and provides for the release of detainees in PA custody. That night, PA forces were freely deployed inside the camp.[37][72]
The truce failed to hold as fighting resumed in the Jenin camp. The Jenin Brigades claimed that the PA had violated the agreement and militants reportedly opened fire on PA forces in the camp.[38][39] According to the militia, their specific grievance was that PA forces, including snipers, had failed to lift their siege around the camp.[73][74]
PA forces withdrew from their positions as the IDF began a major raid on the Jenin camp,[9][10][11] likely since it deemed the PA's efforts against militants insufficient.[8] According to the PA, the Israeli operation caught them by surprise and members of its forces were killed by Israeli fire.[9] According to Israel, however, the PA was informed of the decision to enter Jenin beforehand, and PA forces withdrew to allow the IDF to proceed with their raid.[75]
The day after Israel began its raid on Jenin, PA forces resumed anti-militant operations inside the city alongside the Israeli forces. It marks the first time that the PA directly participates in an Israeli raid.[76]
At a news conference in January and in an interview in February, Brigadier General Rajab outlined what he said were accomplishments of the PA operation, namely the arrest of hundreds of militants and their accomplices, the seizing of illicit funds, explosives, and weapons, and the defusing of bombs in Jenin neighborhoods meant to target Israeli forces.[68]
The operation left the Jenin refugee camp under siege, with no movement in or out, cuts to electricity and water, and ambulances unable to enter or exit.[29] Palestinian Authority forces have also turned several homes into military outposts, forcibly displacing their residents.[20]
Internet videos surfaced showing PA forces beating and torturing Palestinians who expressed opposition to the Jenin operation on social media. In one case detainees were filmed being forced to chant in praise of President Abbas. The crackdown spread to areas outside of Jenin as well, with one Palestinian activist inArtas nearBethlehem reporting that security forces had raided his home and insulted his family in response to his criticism of the operation. Rajab said that the incidents were under investigation.[77]
A team from thePalestine Red Crescent Society testified to being detained, beaten and interrogated by PA forces for two and a half days while they were trying to deliver medications to besieged families.[78]
After the attempted ceasefire failed to hold, local sources reported on 20 January 2025 that PA forces were setting fire to various houses in the Jenin camp.[73]
A total of eight civilians were killed by PA forces during the operation.[15]
On 9 December 2024, 19-year old Rahbi Shalabi was killed during the fighting, with the PA initially claiming militants were responsible.[79] Later, the PA admitted "full responsibility" for Shalabi's killing.[28]
A young Palestinian journalist, Shatha al-Sabbagh, was reportedly killed on 28 December 2024 by PA snipers, according to her family. Rajab claimed that it was militants who shot and killed her.[80]
On 3 January 2025, Mahmoud al-Jalqamousi and his son, Qasem Mahmoud al-Jalqamousi, were shot and killed when they stepped onto the roof of their house in the Jenin camp.[15]
Clashes between militants and security forces in response to the events in Jenin were also reported inNablus andTulkarm on 10 December 2024,[81] and inTammoun, south ofTubas, on 24 December 2024.[82]
On 7 January 2025, three militants, including a founder of theTulkarm Brigade, were wounded after PA forces opened fire on their vehicle inAttil, north of Tulkarm.[83] A similar PA attack against militants in Tulkarm occurred again on 12 January.[84]
Hamas,Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and thePopular Resistance Committees all condemned the Palestinian Authority's operation, including the killing of Jaayseh.[28][85] Hamas official Abdul-Rahman Shadeed said that the PA must "strengthen the national cause" instead of suppressing anti-Israel militancy.[85]
The IDF was reported to have "expressed satisfaction" with the course of the Jenin operation, and theIsraeli security cabinet directed the IDF to bolster collaboration with the PA security forces on the recommendation of theCentral Command.[4]
An Israeli security source toldHaaretz:
Jenin is now a microcosmos of the whole West Bank. If the PA sputters there, its control in the entire region is in danger. All told, the units have legitimization to act at the moment, despite the criticism of the Abu Mazen [Abbas] government. If they're successful in Jenin, it's likely that they will try to extend their activity to additional refugee camps in the north part of the West Bank. If they fail, or if we kick them out of there, that could signal the beginning of the end of their rule.[23]
However, following discussions among Israeli security officials, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant GeneralHerzi Halevi decided to recommend on 29 December that the Israeli government not approve transfers of weapons to the PA forces, as had been requested by the United States.[5]
The Jenin Battalion of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's al-Quds Brigades says it has agreed to an initiative to "end the bloodshed and preserve the Palestinian national fabric" after weeks of skirmishes between its fighters and Palestinian Authority security forces. The group said in a statement that it accepted the proposal – put forward by local leaders, known as the reform committees, civil society groups and the Chamber of Commerce – from a "position of strength".
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