The killing of a young woman highlights the power struggle in the West Bank

Warning: This story contains disturbing details.

Before the New Year, 21-year-old Shatha Al-Sabagh was buying chocolate for her family’s children from a store in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The “brave” journalism student – who wanted to highlight the suffering of Palestinians – was with her mother, two nephews and another relative.

“She was laughing and saying we were going to stay up all night,” her mother recalls.

Then she was shot in the head.

For Shatha's mother, Moatasem's mother, the pain is still excruciating. She stops to take a breath.

“Shatha’s eyes were wide open. She seemed to be staring at me as she lay on her back with blood pouring from her head.

“I started screaming, ‘Stop shooting! My daughter is dead. My daughter is dead.’”

But the shooting lasted about 10 minutes. Shatha died in a pool of her own blood.

Shatha's family holds the Palestinian Authority security forces fully responsible for her killing, saying that their area is under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

She told the BBC: “It cannot be anyone other than the Palestinian Authority… because they have a heavy presence in our region, and no one can come or go.”

But the Palestinian Authority blames “outlaws” – a term it uses to refer to members of the Jenin Brigade, made up of fighters from armed groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

It launched a major security operation in the refugee camp in Jenin last month targeting armed groups stationed there, which it considers a challenge to its authority. Nearly four weeks later, it's still going strong.

The Jenin Brigade is accused of blowing up a car in the camp and carrying out other “illegal activities.”

Brigadier General Anwar Rajab of the Palestinian Authority says: “We have confiscated large numbers of weapons and explosive materials.”

He added, “The goal is to clear the camp of explosive devices that were planted in various streets and alleys. These outlaws crossed all red lines and caused chaos.”

General Rajab also accuses Iran of supporting and financing armed groups in the camp.

The Jenin Brigade denies its relationship with Iran. In a video recently posted on social media, Palestinian Authority spokesman Nour al-Bitar said that the Palestinian Authority is trying to “demonize” them and “tarnish their image,” adding that the fighters will not give up their weapons.

“To the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas, why has it come to this?” he asked, holding up a fragment of what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired into the camp by security forces.

The Palestinian Authority, led by President Abbas, was deeply unpopular among Palestinians dissatisfied with its rejection of armed struggle and its security coordination with Israel.

This anger was exacerbated by the Palestinian Authority's crackdown on armed groups in the camp, which was unprecedented in its ferocity and duration.

Israel considers these groups terrorists, but many Jenin residents see them as a form of resistance to the occupation.

“These ‘outlaws’ that the Palestinian Authority refers to – these are the young men who stand by us when the Israeli army raids our camp,” says Umm Al-Muatasem.

At least 14 people were killed in the campaign, including a 14-year-old boy, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Now many Jenin locals say they fear the Palestinian Authority as much as they fear Israeli military raids. The death of Shatha Al-Sabagh only renewed their contempt.

Before her killing, Shatha made several posts on social media showing the devastation caused by the Palestinian Authority's operation in Jenin – as well as Israeli raids on the camp last year.

Other posts showed pictures of armed young men killed in the fighting, including her brother.

Hamas condemned her killing, and said that her brother was a murdered member of the movement's armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

The group described her “killing…in cold blood” as part of a “repressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which has become a symbol of steadfastness and resistance.”

Mustafa Barghouti, who leads the Palestinian National Initiative party, sees the fighting in Jenin as a result of divisions between the main Palestinian factions — Fatah, which makes up most of the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

“The last thing the Palestinians need is to see Palestinians shooting each other while Israel crushes everyone,” he says.

Inside the camp, residents say daily life has stopped.

Water and electricity supplies have been cut off, and families suffer from food shortages, extreme cold weather, and relentless armed battles.

Local residents who spoke to us asked to change their names, saying they feared retaliation from the Palestinian Authority.

“Things are bad here,” Mohammed says. “We cannot move freely in the camp.”

“All the bakeries, restaurants and shops are closed. The restaurant I work in is open for a day and closed for 10 days. When it is open, no one comes.

“We need milk for the children, we need bread. Some people cannot open their doors because of the constant shooting.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for an investigation into what it described as human rights violations by Palestinian Authority forces.

Rajab said that some of the “outlaws” who “kidnapped” the Jenin camp have been arrested, and others in pending cases will be brought to justice.

But Mohammed describes the operation carried out by the Palestinian Authority, in which innocent people were caught in the crossfire, as “collective punishment.”

“If they want to go after the outlaws, that doesn't mean they have to punish the entire camp. We want our lives back.”

Sadaf, 20, says that even going out to get food or water poses a risk.

“When we go out, we say our last prayers. We mentally prepare ourselves that we may not come back.

“It's very cold. We took down the doors of our house to use them only as firewood.”

The BBC heard similar accounts from four camp residents.

My conversation with Sadaf was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It is not clear where it came from or who was shooting. It starts and stops several times.

“There might be warning shots,” she suggests, adding that this sometimes happens when Palestinian Authority forces change shifts.

Sadaf continues to describe the camp as “garbage that fills the streets and almost enters the homes.” More gunfire can be heard.

Sadaf's mother joins the call. “Listen to this… Can anyone sleep with this sound in the background?

“We are now sleeping in shifts. We are very afraid that they will raid our homes. We are just as afraid of this operation as we are when the Israeli soldiers are here.”

People say security forces deliberately bombed electricity grids and generators, leading to a power outage in the camp.

The Palestinian Authority once again blames “outlaws” and insists it has brought in workers to repair the network.

Major General Rajab says that the armed groups want to “exploit people's suffering to pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop the operation.” He stressed that the security operation will continue until its objectives are achieved.

General Rajab says that the goal of the Palestinian Authority is to control the Jenin camp and ensure security and stability.

It is believed that stripping the armed groups of their control would remove Israel's pretext for attacking the camp.

In late August The Israeli army carried out a major “anti-terrorism” operation that lasted nine days in the city of Jenin and the campWhich led to severe destruction.

At least 36 Palestinians were killed, 21 of them from Jenin Governorate, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Analysts say the Palestinian Authority is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and show the United States that it is capable of playing a role in the future governance of the Gaza Strip.

“What's the harm in that?” General Rajab says.

He added, “Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Gaza and the West Bank are not two separate entities. There is no Palestinian state without Gaza. President (Mahmoud Abbas) said that and this is our strategy.”

But Barghouti says that this trend is an “illusion.” He adds: “All you need to do is listen to what (Benjamin) Netanyahu says.”

Under the Israeli prime minister's vision for Gaza after the war, Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians “with no ties to anti-Israel groups” – that is, any of the main existing Palestinian political parties – would administer the area.

But the United States, Israel's main ally, wants the Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza after the war. Netanyahu previously ruled out the possibility of the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority having a role after the war.

For the residents of Jenin camp, the violence and loss have not subsided.

“The Palestinian Authority says they are here for our safety. Where is the safety when my daughter was killed? Where is the safety with the constant shooting?” Umm al-Mu'tasim is crying.

“They can go after the ‘outlaws,’” she says, “but why should my daughter die? Justice will be served when I know who killed my daughter.”