JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) – At least one person was killed when Palestinian security forces clashed with Palestinian activists and set up checkpoints on Saturday in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, residents and medics said.
Gunfire and explosions could be heard in the city, as frictions escalated in recent days between armed factions and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, after raids launched by the Palestinian Authority.
Residents identified the man who was killed as a militant, although none of the factions immediately confirmed his affiliation.
The security branch of the Palestinian Authority said in a statement that its forces are carrying out a security operation to restore law and order in the historic refugee camp suburb of Jenin, which is a stronghold of Palestinian militants isolated from the Palestinian leadership.
The Palestinian Hamas movement, which has been fighting Israeli forces in Gaza for more than a year, condemned the Palestinian Authority over the Jenin operation, and its allied Islamic Jihad movement called for a day of protests.
Jenin has also been a hotbed of conflict between Palestinian armed groups and the Israeli army in recent years. Since March 2022, Jenin and the outlying areas of the northern West Bank have been subjected to intense Israeli raids following a wave of Palestinian street attacks.
