Within three days of grudgingly accepting a ceasefire in its genocide on Gaza, Israel unleashed a renewed onslaught on the Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank. Its fighter jets launched airstrikes against the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of armed resistance groups. These were followed by a large-scale invasion by Zionist troops backed by swarms of drones, Apache attack helicopters and military vehicles which laid siege to the city, with armoured bulldozers digging up streets. More than 17 people, including a two-year-old Palestinian girl, have been killed in this latest onslaught. Zionist Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on 29 January that troops would remain stationed in the camp.
Palestinian Authority collaborates with Zionism
The ground for this Zionist offensive was laid by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the so-called government of the territory. Its security forces oversaw a savage 48-day siege of the camp ahead of the Israeli operation, withdrawing only when the army moved in. This blatant collaboration by the PA forces reflects its desperation to prove to the US and Israel that it would be capable of governing a post-war Gaza in the interests of imperialism. It is an utter betrayal of the Palestinian people. But the writing has been on the wall for years.
Throughout the Gaza genocide, the PA, led by opportunist politician Mahmoud Abbas, worked consistently to subdue resistance across the West Bank. However, it was unable to do so in Jenin, despite assassinating resistance leaders and cutting off supplies of electricity, water, food and medicine. Its critics have been beaten, arrested and tortured. On 28 December, journalism student Shatha al-Sabbagh, who had posted pictures on social media of the destruction caused by the PA in Jenin, was shot in the head by a PA sniper.
The PA has nailed its colours to the mast, labelling anti-occupation forces ‘outlaws’ and calling on them to lay down their arms. Abbas was hand-picked by imperialism decades ago as the kind of comprador Palestinian it could do business with and he duly obliged, signing the Oslo Accords in 1993. These recognised the Zionist regime on 78% of the historical land of Palestine and allowed the continued colonisation of Palestine. The ratio of PA security personnel to the population is 1 to 48 – one of the highest in the world – accounting for nearly $1bn of the PA budget. This is more than the education, health and agricultural sectors combined. Meanwhile, it has done nothing to counter the renewed land grab by Israelis, emboldened by Donald Trump’s lifting of sanctions against ‘extremist’ Zionist settlers. Small wonder the PA is deeply unpopular across the West Bank.
Resistance groups in the West Bank have opened up new fronts against the occupation forces. We stand with them. We demand the unbanning of all Palestinian resistance groups and all-encompassing sanctions on the Zionist state to isolate it in the Middle East.
Mark Moncada
FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 304 February/March 2025
