Gunmen attack Palestinian Authority headquarters in Jenin
Several gunmen took part in the attack, one of the largest against a PA installation in the West Bank.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHUpdated: DECEMBER 15, 2020 22:02A Palestinian gunman holds a weapon during the funeral of Palestinian Yazan Abu Tabekh, who was killed during an Israeli raid, in Jenin in the West Bank February 6, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN)
Unidentified gunmen carried out a shooting attack on Palestinian Authority headquarters in Jenin on Monday night. No one was hurt, but some offices and vehicles were damaged.The compound houses the headquarters of the PA security forces in the Jenin area of the northern West Bank.In an unrelated development, the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the West Bank, 362, was registered in the Jenin area, the PA Ministry of Health announced Tuesday.Several gunmen took part in the attack, one of the largest against a PA installation in the West Bank, Palestinian sources in Jenin said.Some of the attackers belonged to the Palestinian ruling Fatah faction in the Jenin refugee camp and surrounding villages, they said.According to the sources, the attack may be linked to the PA security forces’ crackdown on gunmen and the confiscation of illegal weapons.Eleven suspects have been arrested in connection with the shooting attack, according to Loay Irziqat, spokesman for the PA police.The suspects include one of the biggest arms dealers in the Jenin area, he said Tuesday. The PA security forces will continue to pursue anyone who breaks the law, including those responsible for the attack, he added.Akram Rajoub, the PA governor of Jenin, condemned the attack as a “flagrant assault” and vowed to punish the perpetrators.The attackers were “traitors” and “outlaws” with a “filthy agenda hostile to the Palestinians’ national security, peace and the legitimacy of our leadership,” he said, adding that “this cowardly act will not go unpunished.”
The incident in Jenin came hours after four PA security officers were injured during clashes with Palestinians in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. The officers were injured when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at their vehicle, PA security sources said.Two suspects were later arrested by the PA security forces for their role in the attack, the sources said, describing the detainees as “troublemakers.”Over the past few years, Balata has been the scene of frequent clashes between PA security forces and various armed groups belonging to Fatah.In late October, a senior Fatah operative, Hatem Abu Rizek, was killed during clashes with PA security officers in the camp. Rizek was killed when an explosive device he was carrying accidentally exploded, the PA security forces said.Rizek was affiliated with deposed Fatah operative Mohammad Dahlan, an archrival of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. He lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates.Jamal Tirawi, a senior Fatah activist from Balata, published on his Facebook page an open letter to Abbas and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in which he urged them to intervene to stop “the destruction of Balata refugee camp.”“Stop the destruction; stop the siege of the camp and the storming of homes, random searches of homes and intimidation of children, women and the elderly – have mercy on us,” he wrote.
