“Stop the shooting! My daughter is dead”: Woman killed as power struggle escalates in West Bank

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

Just before the New Year, 21-year-old Shatha al-Sabbagh was buying chocolate for her family’s children at a shop in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The “fearless” journalism student – who wanted to shed light on the suffering of Palestinians – was accompanied by her mother, two young nephews and another relative.

“She was laughing and saying we would stay up all night tonight,” her mother recalls.

Then he was shot in the head.

For Shatha’s mother Umm al-Motassem, the pain is still fresh. She stops to take a breath.

“Shata’s eyes were wide open. It seemed as if she was lying on her back staring at me with blood flowing from her head.

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

But the firing continued for about 10 minutes. Shata died in a pool of her own blood.

Shatha’s family holds Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces solely responsible for his murder, saying their area is controlled by the PA.

He told the BBC, “It couldn’t have been anyone other than the PA… because he has such a heavy presence in our neighborhood – no one else could have come or gone.”

But the PA blames “criminals” – the term they use for members of the Jenin Battalion, which is made up of fighters from armed groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

The PA exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

It last month launched a major security operation in the refugee camp in Jenin, targeting armed groups based there, which they see as a challenge to their authority. This continues even after about four weeks.

The Jenin battalion is accused of blowing up a car and carrying out other “illegal activities” in the camp.

“We have seized a large number of weapons and explosive materials,” says PA Brigadier General Anwar Rajab.

“The objective is to clear the camp with explosive devices planted in various roads and streets… These criminals have crossed all red lines and spread chaos.”

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

The Jenin battalion denies ties to Iran. In a recent video posted on social media, spokesman Nour al-Bitar said the PA was trying to “demonise” them and “tarnish their image”, adding that the fighters would not give up their weapons.

“From the PA and President Mahmoud Abbas, why did this come to this?” he asked, holding in his hand shrapnel from what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired at the camp by security forces.

The PA, led by President Abbas, was already unpopular among Palestinians dissatisfied with its rejection of armed conflict and its security coordination with Israel.

This anger intensified with the PA’s crackdown on armed groups in the camp, which is unprecedented in its intensity and length.

Israel views those groups as terrorists, but many Jenin locals consider them a form of resistance to the occupation.

“The ‘criminals’ the PA is referring to – these are the young people who stood up for us when the Israeli army raided our camp,” says Umm al-Motassem.

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

Now many Jenin locals say they fear the PA as much as they fear Israel’s military raids. Shatha al-Sabbagh’s death has only rekindled their contempt.

Before he was killed, Shatha had shared several posts on social media showing the destruction caused by the PA operation in Jenin, as well as the Israeli raid on the camp last year.

Other posts showed photos of armed youths killed in the fighting, including his brother.

His killing was condemned by Hamas, which identified his brother as a slain member of the group’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

The group described his “killing… in cold blood” as “part of a repressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which has become a symbol of determination and resistance”.

Mustafa Barghouti, who leads the political party Palestinian National Initiative, sees the fighting in Jenin as the result of divisions between the main Palestinian factions – Fatah, which owns the majority of the PA, and Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007. Let’s see.

He says, “The last thing Palestinians need is to see Palestinians shooting each other while Israel crushes everyone else.”

Inside the camp, residents say daily life has come to a halt.

Water and electricity supplies have been cut off and families suffer from food shortages, extreme cold and constant gun battles.

Locals we spoke to asked for their names to be changed, saying they feared reprisals by the PA.

“The situation here is serious. We can’t move around freely in the camp,” says Mohammed.

“All the bakeries, restaurants and shops are closed. The restaurant where I work opens for a day and closes at 10. When it is open, no one comes.

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

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, has called for an investigation into what it described as human rights violations by PA forces.

General Rajab said that some of the “criminals” who “hijacked” the Jenin camp have been arrested and others with pending cases will be brought to justice.

But Mohammed describes the PA’s operations – with innocent people caught in the crossfire – as “collective punishment”.

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

Even going out to get food or water is risky, says Sadaf, 20.

“When we go out, we say our last prayers. We prepare ourselves mentally that we may not come back.

“It’s very cold. We have opened the doors of our house to use as wood to stay warm.”

The BBC has heard similar stories from four residents of the camp.

My conversation with Sadaf is interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It is not clear where it is from or who is firing. It starts and stops several times.

“There may be warning shots,” she suggests, adding that this sometimes happens when PA forces are changing shifts.

Sadaf continues to describe the camp, “The garbage is filling the streets and almost getting into the houses”. More firing sounds can be heard.

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

“We now sleep in shifts. We are so afraid that they might attack our homes. We are as afraid of this operation as we are when Israeli soldiers are here.”

People say security forces have deliberately attacked power grids and generators, causing power cuts in the camp.

The PA again blames “criminals” – and insists it has called in workers to fix the grid.

General Rajab says the armed groups “want to use the people’s suffering to pressure the PA to stop the operation”. He says that the security campaign will continue until its objectives are achieved.

General Rajab says the PA’s goal is to establish control over the Jenin camp and ensure security and stability.

They believe that giving up control of armed groups would remove Israel’s pretext to attack the camp.

at the end of August, Israeli military launches nine-day “anti-terrorism” operation in Jenin city and campWhich resulted in terrible destruction.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 36 Palestinians were killed – 21 from Jenin Governorate.

Analysts say the PA is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and show the US that it is capable of playing a role in the future governance of Gaza.

“What would be the harm in this?” General Rajab says.

“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 this and that is our strategy.”

But Barghouti says this view is an “illusion”. He added, “You just have to hear what (Benjamin) Netanyahu says.”

Under the Israeli Prime Minister’s vision for post-war Gaza, Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians would have “no ties to groups hostile to Israel” – hence any of the existing major Palestinian political parties – in the territory. Will not run.

But the US, Israel’s key ally, wants the PA to rule Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has previously ruled out a post-war role for the internationally supported PA.

For residents of the Jenin camp, there has been no reduction in violence and loss.

“The PA says they are here for our security. Where was the security when my daughter was murdered? Where is the security with the continuous firing?” Umm al-Motassem cries.

She says, “They can go after the ‘criminals’, but why did my daughter have to die? Justice will come when I find out who killed my daughter.”