Amid the PA’s operation in Jenin against Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, local networks were abuzz on Monday following the killing of Shatha Nasser Sabbagh, a 26-year-old journalist from Jenin, who was reportedly shot in the head and killed near her family’s home Saturday night.
Sabbagh’s family said her killing was perpetrated “by our own people and from zero distance, for no reason, while carrying children in her hands.”
Fatah’s rival, Hamas, also accused the Palestinian Authority of killing Sabbagh, deeming it a “deliberate and cold-blooded killing,” and condemning it as a “criminal act that is added to its black record against our people, including killings, arrests and torture.”
Hamas puts blame on PA
The terrorist group further regarded the PA’s operation as reaching “dangerous and unprecedented stages, and scenes that mimic what the occupation [Israel] is doing against our people,” deeming it “part of a repressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which is a symbol of steadfastness and resistance.”
Hamas also said Sabbagh was the sister of Mutasem Sabbagh, a terrorist from Hamas’s Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades who was killed during armed clashes with Israeli forces in Jenin in March 2023.
An especially tense moment that went viral was registered when Sabbagh’s mother, Nahida, was brought on air to an Al Jazeera interview with Anwar Rajab, the official spokesperson of the PA forces, without granting Rajab prior notice.
During the makeshift debate, the bereaved mother accused the PA forces of killing her daughter deliberately, leading Rajab to withdraw from the interview angrily after accusing the pro-Hamas Qatari network of “incitement” and “lowly style.”
Despite the accusations, the PA said its forces were not present at the scene and it condemned the “heinous crime” of Sabbagh’s murder.
Palestinian outlets described Sabbagh as a freelance reporter and student of journalism who worked with several outlets, focusing her reports on social issues and amplifying the voice of refugees.
Online posts circulated with Sabbagh’s last story on her Instagram account, where she accused the PA of “openly targeting the resistance fighters and making fake excuses to deceive its militants.”
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate issued a statement mourning Sabbagh’s “martyrdom,” demanding an independent investigation committee with the participation of a representative of the syndicate “to uncover the truth, hold the killers accountable, and prevent them from escaping punishment.”