Israel fears that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is losing control of the territory due to the increasing involvement of Fatah operatives in terrorism, sometimes in cooperation with Hamas members.
The five terrorists killed between Friday and Saturday in an airstrike in the Balata refugee camp in eastern Nablus found hiding in the headquarters of the Fatah movement, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. At least four of those killed belonged to Fatah. It is no coincidence that they hid there – thinking that Israel would refrain from hitting a target identified with Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.
The presence of the terrorists at Fatah headquarters does not necessarily indicate that Mahmoud Abbas supports them. But it points to signs of a rift or rift between his political leadership and Fatah militants on the ground.
Palestinian sources say that Abbas no longer fully controls the street operatives of Fatah militias, and recently there has been increasing involvement of Fatah militants in terrorist activity. It should be noted that some of them also serve in the Palestinian security forces.
Locating and destroying an IED laboratory in Balata Refugee Camp // Photo: IDF Spokesperson
At a hospital in Jenin, Jamal Masharqa, a member of the General Intelligence in the Palestinian security forces, died of his wounds last week in clashes with IDF forces in the Jenin refugee camp. This was in addition to three Palestinian policemen and members of the Palestinian security forces who also took part in this operation and went to fight against the army.
On the ground, war is being called
Since the beginning of the war, Mahmoud Abbas has been subjected to harsh criticism from Fatah members and officers in the security forces for "not declaring war against Israel" and refraining from escalating his measures against it.
According to a Palestinian source who spoke to Israel Hayom, emissaries from the PA chairman were sent to hold talks with Tanzim Fatah commanders and field activists, in accordance with an Israeli request, in an attempt to persuade them "not to use weapons or openly identify" with Hamas.
Nonetheless, many of Tanzim's Fatah street gunmen and grassroots activists are not reluctant despite the political leadership in Ramallah, and do not always agree to accept its line. For example, two weeks ago, the IDF detained 'Ata Abu Ramila, Fatah's secretary general in Jenin. Abu Ramila was close to the armed squads and called for military resistance against Israel while voicing extremist positions that are far from the public statements made by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
In recent weeks, Israeli security forces have also detained several prominent Fatah operatives in the Jerusalem and Ramallah areas. In addition, Abbas Zaki, one of Fatah's most prominent leaders, praised the Hamas attack and thanked the organization's military wing, which caused confusion around Mahmoud Abbas.
Fatah activists threatened to avenge the deaths of the five Balata terrorists, apparently intending to carry out attacks against Israelis. For example, Fatah secretary in Nablus, Muhammad Hamdan, said that "these heroes gave the occupation a taste of resistance, this crime against the martyrs of Al-Aqsa will continue, and we will spare no means to respond to this barbarism."
The Balata refugee camp is the largest camp in Judea and Samaria and has always been considered a Fatah stronghold. The most senior of those killed was Muhammad Zahd, nicknamed "Al-Zufi," who is considered a senior commander in the terrorist militias of the Balata Battalion in the camp, many of whose members belong to Fatah-affiliated networks.
As far as Abbas is concerned, there is another good reason for concern. In an operation in the Tulkarem refugee camp last week, Fatah members were killed along with Hamas operatives during an operation by the Israeli security forces. In the foiled vehicle was one terrorist from Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, alongside a terrorist from Hamas' military-terrorist wing. This is in addition to other cases in which operatives from both camps were killed together, indicating that Fatah members are beginning to cooperate with Hamas in terror against Israel.
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