Palestinian Authority mounts rare, lethal raids in West Bank
The Palestinian government has been carrying out a rare and lethal sweep against terrorists in a flashpoint West Bank city, saying it was needed to foil an imminent car-bombing and other attacks.
The operation by the Palestinian Authority, targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in the city of Jenin, was launched on Dec. 5 but only announced this weekend as clashes escalated. Three Palestinians — at least two of them gunmen — have been killed and several P.A. security men wounded.
“The security forces managed to prevent potential disasters for our people,” the P.A. military spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Anwar Rajab, said, accusing local gunmen of “ISIS-like practices and behavior.”
The operation comes as the P.A. is seeking to bolster its credibility as an organization capable of strong governance, amid ongoing Israeli raids there and Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The P.A. and some outside nations say it should be a body to govern a post-war Gaza, a possibility Israel rejects.
Israel is separately beefing up West Bank troop deployments, especially around Jewish settlements. Its defense minister, Israel Katz, on Thursday predicted possible attacks by “radical Islamist terrorists who have been inspired by the rebel assault in Syria.”
Axios reported on Sunday that the Biden administration has asked Israel to approve military assistance to the P.A. for the West Bank operation. The report quoted unnamed U.S., Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Meanwhile, ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him from their base in western Syria after it came under attack.
“I did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported earlier,” Assad said. The comments posted to his Facebook on Monday are the first by Assad since he was overthrown on Dec. 8 by jihadi-led Syrian rebels.