This month’s major army operation in Jenin, which Israel codenamed House and Garden and which the Palestinians call Jenin Heroism, revealed what many Israelis and Palestinians had already known. The Palestinian Authority is having difficulty governing the refugee camps in Jenin and Nablus, which have long ago become exterritorial. Armed militias from Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades operate there.
Young people in the refugee camps, particularly those affiliated with Fatah, may not have experienced the second intifada, but they were raised on the battle legacy of its “martyrs.” They refuse to be the stepchildren of hedonistic “Mother Ramallah” and the children of a Palestinian father who is alienated and disengaged and who has abandoned them to their fate — and who doesn’t protect them or look after their livelihood but instead is busy with indulgences and luxuries.
These young people are furious with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and they’ve decided to take up arms not only against Israeli soldiers and civilians but also against Palestinian symbols of governance. They cooperate with Islamic Jihad’s Jenin Battalion and with their colleagues in the joint operations room that opened in Jenin shortly after six Palestinian prisoners escaped from Gilboa Prison in 2021. Operation House and Garden, which caused major damage in the Jenin refugee camp, increased the young Palestinians’ anger.
After being cut off for 11 years, Abbas decided to meet them face-to-face in the Jenin camp, but even en route to the camp, it was apparent that Abbas’ Fatah party had not realized the magnitude of the hour that they still had to grapple with. The rivalry in the Palestinian leadership among Jibril Rajoub, Hussein al-Sheikh, Majed Faraj and Mahmoud al-Aloul was very apparent from where each of them stood in relation to Abbas during the visit. Al-Sheikh gave a bearhug to Faraj and Abbas. When Rajoub tried to approach Abbas, a gentle shoving match erupted and Rajoub was left behind. Aloul also had to stand behind Abbas rather than next to him.
Beyond the personal competition, there’s also territorial competition among Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin for the heroic title of icon in the national struggle for liberation. Abbas chose to confer the title on Jenin to bring home the sons of the Fatah movement who had begun to frequent the pastures of its political rivals: Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and Iran. Hamas and Islamic Jihad flags were removed from the entrance to the refugee camp. A message was disseminated that anyone who dared harm national unity would find their hand severed.
Even though Jenin won the coveted title, those in Nablus have refused to forgive it for the disgraceful expulsion of Aloul, Abbas’ deputy, who was born in Nablus. Aloul had been shamefully expelled from the Jenin refugee camp during the funeral for 12 activists who were killed in Operation House and Garden. Young people yelled “out, out” and “shame, shame” at a man who in the view of many Palestinians is considered a patriot. This caused great anger among Fatah’s followers in Nablus.
In the Palestinian media, the view was also that this is not the way to treat someone who had been involved in the kidnapping of eight Israeli soldiers from the Nahal Brigade and who had brought about the exchange of 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in 1982. He was also the right-hand man to Palestinian leader Khalil al-Wazir in the first intifada and lost a son in the second intifada. Aloul supported an end to Palestinian divisions and was a labor minister in the Hamas cabinet in 2009.
The reactions weren’t long in coming. A video clip that was made public shows armed men threatening a store owner identified with Hamas in Nablus, ordering him to close his shop or else. And Tawfiq Tirawi, the former head of general intelligence, who did his master’s degree studies at An-Najah University in Nablus, is also seen dressing down Fatah activists for not cutting out the tongue of the person who spoke ill of Fatah and expelled Aloul.
Some people in the Jenin refugee camp got the message and were quick to make peace with Aloul, who is a potential successor to Abbas. His return to the refugee camp in the role of “rebuilder” sent a message to Jenin residents — Nablus is your sister in arms, Jenin needs it, and it doesn’t pay to quarrel with a city that may produce the next president of Palestine.
Many Palestinians view the fighting heritage of the Jenin refugee camp as a legacy of heroism and standing firm. This legacy includes the battle of Yabad between British forces and armed Palestinians led by Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam in 1935, the resistance during Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 and now, Operation House and Garden.
The struggle between Jenin and Nablus isn’t taking place solely in the political arena. It is also present in the conversation among mothers of “martyrs.” A few of the latter were even willing to risk a rift in the family by putting Jenin above Nablus.
For instance, when the mother of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi — one of the leaders of the Lion’s Den militia in Nablus, who was killed by Israeli forces last year — was asked by Al Jazeera to say a few words of farewell to her son, she said, “Oh Ibrahim, you’re from the seed of Jenin … a hero and the son of heroes … who grew up in a fighting, sacrificing family … and there are another 100,000 Ibrahims who will see your path to the end through jihad.”
In other words, this mother, who is from the Al-Jarrar family in Jenin, preferred to affiliate her son with her own family rather than his father’s family, which is from Nablus. His father serves in the Palestinian security services, which cooperate with Israel.
The only person who appeared to get the message sent by young Fatah members in the Jenin and Nablus refugee camps was Aloul. He is the one who roused the people sitting in Ramallah from their slumber.
It’s important to remember that the Fatah movement chose the route of diplomacy after decades of armed struggle. To prevent its younger members from returning to armed struggle, Israel and the Palestinian Authority must restore their personal and national honor and implement the two-state solution.
First published in Haaretz, 18.07.2023
