By Ali Sawafta and James Mackenzie

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian Authority security forces have been battling Islamist fighters in Jenin for days, as they battle to control one of the West Bank’s historic militant hubs in not yet a possible shakeout in Palestinian politics after Gaza. war

PA forces, which exercise limited autonomy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, moved into Jenin in early December and have since battled fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

At least three people were killed, including a senior Islamic Jihad commander and two civilians. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA called for an investigation into the so-called violation of human rights law by the Palestinian forces.

Heavily armed Palestinian security forces in armored personnel carriers set up checkpoints around the city and outside the nearby refugee camp, where there have been repeated protests by residents against the operation.

Residents say the behavior of PA security forces is similar to the way the Israeli army traditionally operates in Jenin. The city and refugee camp have long been a center of Palestinian militancy, where fighters have battled Israeli forces that have escalated large-scale attacks that have left a trail of destroyed roads and infrastructure.

“The PA doesn’t have bulldozers like the (Israeli) army. That’s the only difference. The raid is the same, the blockade is the same,” said Jenin resident Malek Jaber.

Brigadier General Anwar Rajab, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, said that the “outlaws” who took over Jenin’s camp were arrested and brought to justice. The operation is aimed at imposing order and security and will continue until the objectives are achieved, he said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, who visited Jenin with Palestinian security leaders at the weekend, said the operation should put security back “on the road to creating an independent state”.

However, the operation sparked strong opposition in Jenin and there were violent clashes in other West Bank cities including Tubas in the Jordan Valley and Tulkarm in the north.

‘PROVE THE END’

The timing of the operation is a sign that the PA needs to “prove its worth” as it seeks to maintain its role in the West Bank while preparing for a possible future role in Gaza, said Hani al -Masri, a Palestinian political analyst in Ramallah.

The Palestinian Authority was established three decades ago under the Oslo interim peace accord and was given limited authority in the West Bank and Gaza, where Palestinians hope for an independent state. It was driven out of Gaza by Hamas in a civil war in 2007.

Since the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by fighters led by Hamas, Israel has pledged to expel Hamas from Gaza. Israel says it also believes the PA should have no role in Gaza after the war, but most Western and Arab countries say Gaza should be run by the Palestinians and they expect a role for in PA.

Michael Mihlshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer and one of Israel’s leading experts on Palestinian affairs, agreed that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to show force now, ahead of an expected post-war settlement.

“There is very broad pressure on him to do something if he wants to be considered a relevant player for the next day in Gaza,” Milshtein said.

He noted that the operation in Jenin also follows a ceasefire in Lebanon, the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the election of Donald Trump in the United States, events that leave the future of the region unresolved.

Israel has accused the PA of failing to control militant groups in the occupied West Bank. The PA says Israel, which has military control over the territory, is deliberately undermining its authority.

PA officials say one of the goals of the operation is to prevent Hamas and Islamic Jihad from establishing the kind of rule in the West Bank that paved the way for Israel to destroy Gaza.

Despite reconciliation efforts, Fatah, the main faction behind the PA, has so far failed to agree with Hamas on how to rule Gaza after the fighting.

(Reporting by James Mackenzie from Jerusalem; Editing by Howard Goller and Peter Graff)