WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

On New Year’s Eve, 21-year-old Shatha al-Sabbagh went to a store in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, to buy chocolates for her family’s children.

The “fearless” journalism student – who wanted to shine a light on Palestinian suffering – was with her mother, two young nephews and another relative.

“She laughed and said we were going to be up all night tonight,” her mother recalled.

Then she was shot in the head.

For Shatta’s mother, Umm Mutasem, the pain remains unbearable. She paused to catch her breath.

“Shata’s eyes were wide open. It looked like she was lying on her back, staring at me, and blood was pouring out of her head.”

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

But the shooting lasted about 10 minutes. Shatta died in a pool of his own blood.

Shatta’s family holds Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces solely responsible for her killing, saying their area is under PA control.

She told the BBC: “There can’t be anyone other than the PA… because they have such a big presence in our community that no one else can come in or out.”

But the Palestinian Authority blamed it on “outlaws” – a term they use to describe members of the Jenin battalion, which is made up of fighters from armed groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

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

Last month it launched a major security operation in the Jenin refugee camp, targeting armed groups there who saw what they saw as a challenge to their authority. Nearly four weeks later, the situation continues.

Camp Jenin was accused of blowing up a car inside the camp and carrying out other “illegal activities.”

“We have confiscated a large amount of weapons and explosive materials,” Palestinian Authority Brigadier General Anwar Rajab said.

“The aim is to clear the camp of explosive devices planted in different streets and alleys…These miscreants have crossed all red lines and spread chaos.”

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

The Jenin camp denies links to Iran. In a recent video posted on social media, spokesman Noor Bitar said the Palestinian Authority was trying to “demonize” them and “tarnish their image,” adding that the militants would not give up their weapons.

“For the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas, why did things come to this?” he asked, holding up shrapnel from what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired by security forces at the camp.

The Palestinian Authority, led by President Abbas, is already unpopular with Palestinians unhappy with its rejection of armed struggle and security coordination with Israel.

This anger has intensified with the Palestinian Authority’s crackdown on armed groups in the camps, which has been unprecedented in its ferocity and duration.

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

“What the Palestinian Authority refers to as ‘outlaws’ are the young people who came forward when the Israeli army attacked our camp,” Umm Motasim said.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 14 people died in the crackdown, including a 14-year-old child.

Now, many Jenin locals say they fear the Palestinian Authority as much as they fear Israeli military attacks. Shatta Sabagh’s death only reignited their contempt.

Before he was killed, Shatta shared multiple posts on social media showing the devastation caused by Palestinian Authority operations in Jenin, as well as Israeli attacks on the camp last year.

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

Hamas condemned her killing and identified her brother as a slain member of the group’s armed wing, the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades.

The group described her “murder… in cold blood” as “part of an oppressive policy against the Jenin refugee camp that has become a symbol of steadfastness and resistance”.

Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative party, believes the fighting in Jenin is between the main Palestinian factions – Fatah, which makes up most of the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007. — the result of disagreements between.

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

Residents in the camp say daily life has come to a standstill.

Water and electricity supplies were cut off, and families suffered from food shortages, freezing weather and relentless gunfire.

Locals we spoke to asked for the name to be changed, saying they feared reprisals from the Palestinian Authority.

“The situation here is terrible. We cannot move freely in the camp,” Mohammed said.

“All the bakeries, restaurants and shops were closed. The restaurant I worked at was open one day and closed ten. When it was open, no one came.

“We need milk for the kids, we need bread. Some people can’t open their doors because of the shooting.”

The United Nations humanitarian agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, has called for an investigation into human rights abuses by Palestinian Authority forces.

General Rajab said some of the “criminals” who “hijacked” the Jenin refugee camp have been arrested and other outstanding cases will be brought to justice.

But Mohammed described the Palestinian Authority’s actions – in which innocent people were caught in the crossfire – as “collective punishment”.

“If they want to go after the wrongdoers, that doesn’t mean they should punish the entire camp. We want our lives back.”

Sadaf, 20, said even going out to get food or water was risky.

“When we go out, we say our last prayers. We mentally prepare ourselves in case we might not come back.

“It was so cold that we took down the doors of our house and used them as firewood to keep warm.”

The BBC heard similar accounts from four residents of the camp.

My conversation with Sadaf was interrupted by gunfire. It’s unclear where it came from or who launched it. It will start and stop a few times.

“Maybe a warning shot could be fired,” she suggested, adding that this sometimes happens when Palestinian Authority troops change shifts.

Sadaf went on to describe the camp as “the streets were filled with trash, almost entering people’s homes”. More gunshots can be heard.

Sadaf’s mother also joined the call. “Listen to this…can anyone sleep with this background sound?

“We now take turns sleeping. We are very afraid that they might attack our home. We are as afraid of this operation as when the Israeli soldiers were here.”

People said security forces deliberately damaged power grids and generators, causing a power outage in the camp.

The electricity board again blamed “criminals” and insisted it had hired workers to repair the grid.

General Rajab said the armed group hoped to “exploit the suffering of the people to pressure the Palestinian Authority to cease its operations”. He said security operations would continue until the objectives were achieved.

General Rajab said the Palestinian Authority’s goal was to establish control of the Jenin refugee camp and ensure security and stability.

He argued that stripping armed groups of control would give Israel no excuse to attack the camps.

late August, Israeli troops conduct major 9-day “anti-terrorism” operation in Jenin city and refugee campscausing serious damage.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 36 Palestinians died, 21 of them from Jenin Governorate.

Analysts say the Palestinian Authority is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and show the United States that it has the ability to play a role in Gaza’s future governance.

“What’s the harm in that?” General Rajab said.

“Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Gaza and the West Bank are not separate entities. There is no Palestinian state without Gaza. The president (Mahmoud Abbas) has said it and this is our strategy.”

But Barghouti said that approach was a “fantasy.” “All you need is to listen to what (Benjamin) Netanyahu has to say,” he added.

Under the Israeli prime minister’s vision for post-war Gaza, Israel would control security indefinitely, while Palestinians “with no ties to groups hostile to Israel” – and thus none of the existing major Palestinian parties – would govern the territory.

But Israel’s main ally, the United States, wants the Palestinian Authority to run Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has previously ruled out a postwar role for the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority.

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

“The Palestinian Authority said they are here for our security. Where is the security when my daughter was killed? Where is the security with the non-stop shootings?” Umm Mutassim cried.

“They can go after the ‘wrongdoers,’ but why did my daughter have to die? Justice will be served when I know who killed my daughter,” she said.