Palestinian Authority Deploys Security Forces Against Militants in West Bank

The Palestinian Authority announced an unusually public crackdown on militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, sending armored vehicles through a city’s streets and engaging in gun battles with armed groups.

Palestinian security forces began deploying in the city, Jenin, to “put an end to sedition and chaos,” said Brig. Gen. Anwar Rajab, a spokesman for the authority’s security services. The authority administers some West Bank areas under Israeli occupation.

The forces killed a local militant leader in a neighborhood founded by Palestinian refugees, according to General Rajab and residents.

“This situation cannot be allowed to continue. It is unfortunate that we now need to deploy security forces to impose order,” said Mohammad Mustafa, the Palestinian prime minister. “But we will not watch our country destroyed and be silent.”

Violence in the West Bank has sharply escalated since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. The growing power of militants in West Bank cities like Jenin and Tulkarm has prompted a deadly cycle of Israeli raids and drone strikes, which have devastated Palestinian neighborhoods.

In an attempt to break the cycle of violence, U.S. officials recently urged the Palestinian Authority to escalate its own law-and-order operations in the West Bank, according to two Western diplomats and a Palestinian security official familiar with the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.