The Streets of Jenin: A Tale of Two Hammers

In the pre-dawn stillness of Jenin, a city scarred by years of resistance and conflict, an unusual sound shattered the calm: the rumble of Palestinian Authority (PA) armoured vehicles. Dubbed “Operation Protect the Homeland,” the PA had launched a rare and sweeping campaign against local resistance groups in the northern West Bank. What followed was a fierce gun battle that left Yazid Ja’ayseh and Muhammad al-Amer dead, the latter gunned down in front of his father. Days earlier, 19-year-old Rabhi al-Shalabi had been killed in what witnesses described as cold blood.

For years, Jenin’s refugee camp has been synonymous with defiance, a place where resistance fighters have clashed with Israeli forces in battles that left roads torn and homes shattered. But this time, the fighters were facing their own—the PA’s security forces. Armoured cars prowled the outskirts, and the crackle of gunfire echoed through the camp as locals watched in stunned disbelief.

“The PA doesn’t have bulldozers like the Israeli army,” said Malek Jaber, a lifelong resident of Jenin. “That’s the only difference. The raid is the same, the blockade is the same.”

To many, the PA’s actions mirrored the tactics of the Israeli military, which has long sought to quash resistance in Jenin. Israeli forces, especially since the deadly Hamas attacks of October 2023, have intensified their presence in the West Bank. Palestinian health officials report that over 800 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then, the majority during Israeli raids on towns and cities.

Against this backdrop, the PA’s operation raised troubling questions about its role in the region. Analysts suggest it reflects the PA’s efforts to “prove its worth” amidst shifting political dynamics, particularly as the authority eyes a potential future role in Gaza. Political analyst Hani al-Masri pointed to the influence of long-standing security training programs—remnants of international efforts to shape the PA into a governing force.

Yet, on the streets of Jenin, trust in the PA is thin. The Authority’s stated justifications for its actions—fighting terrorism, maintaining security, and imposing order—ring hollow to many. For them, these words mask a failure to protect Palestinians in Gaza and a powerlessness to curb settler violence that continues to encroach on Palestinian lands. Worse still, many view the PA as complicit, hiding in its fortified headquarters while Israeli forces raid Palestinian homes.

For the people of Palestine, the situation feels like a hammer striking from both sides. On one hand, the relentless Israeli occupation; on the other, the PA’s heavy-handed tactics. In Jenin, where resilience has long been a way of life, the weight of these dual forces presses harder than ever.

And so, the streets of Jenin tell a story not just of conflict, but of a people caught in an unyielding struggle for survival—trapped between two hammers, with nowhere to turn.

Written by Rizwan Abu Huthaifa

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