What’s behind PA's crackdown against Hamas, Islamic Jihad in Jenin?
Ramallah-based security forces are clashing with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Jenin as President Mahmoud Abbas seeks to prove to the incoming Trump administration that the Palestinian Authority is willing to crack down on militant groups.
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Palestinian security forces are involved in a rare crackdown on armed militants holed up in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank. It's unclear how the ongoing situation will pan out, but there is little doubt that the effects of the battles will have implications for the future of the West Bank and the future rule of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
Mohammad Mustafa, the mild-mannered, US-trained former World Bank official who is the current prime minister in Ramallah, made a rare statement on Dec. 14 during a visit to Jenin, praising the crackdown and warning against "those who want to destroy the country."
He said that President Mahmoud Abbas' "instructions to extend the rule of law aim to save the camp and the people of Jenin from continued suffering" and would restore security "on the way towards the creation of an independent state."
