40 days of besiege on Jenin Refugee Camp
This is today's headline, 40 days of siege and fire on the Jenin refugee camp, resulting in killing at least 15 people including children and a female journalist. perpetrated by the so-called Palestinian Authority (PA).
The PA has long played a central role in sustaining the Israeli occupation and its oppression of Palestinians. The difference now is their inability to conceal their complicity, as the Israeli occupation pressures them to suppress resistance in the West Bank or face existential threats.
The PA, dominated by the Fatah party, is an illegitimate government. It lost the 2006 parliamentary elections to Hamas and has since blocked any democratic processes. While Palestinians face genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in 1948-occupied territories, and annexation in the West Bank, the PA actively participates in this oppression and genocide committed against its own people in the westbank.
PA forces routinely abandon the streets where they’re usually positioned during Israeli military invasions, arrest political dissidents, and collaborate with the occupation by detaining Palestinians, many of whom are handed over to Israeli forces for imprisonment or execution. Since the start of the genocide in Gaza, the PA has arrested 484 Palestinians for political reasons, including opposition to the PA, support for Hamas and armed resistance, or participation in resistance—whether through their platforms such as journalists or through armed resistance.
On October 17th 2023, specifically on the night of Al-Ahli hospital massacre where over 470 Palestinians were murdered by Israeli missiles, people in the West Bank roamed the streets of every city protesting and expressing their disappointment in the silence of the PA in the face of the Israeli crimes against our people in Gaza, the PA responded by killing 4 people including a young girl who’s only 9 years old in Jenin.
The PA today continues its work in maintaining the occupation by suppressing any form of resistance especially in the northern cities of the West Bank such as Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm, Qalqilya and their camps. News outlets are headlining murders and political arrests by both the PA and the Israeli army hand in hand.
This is a call to governments and individuals supporting Palestinian liberation: the PA does not represent the Palestinian people. It is an entity that prioritises self-preservation over the will and rights of Palestinians.
When governments, such as Ireland, engage and recognise Palestinian ambassadors as a gesture of solidarity, they must question who these representatives truly serve. What do they know of the people’s suffering, and what actions have they taken to alleviate it. Alternatively, recognise and support grassroots Palestinian organisations—the true voice of the people—who work tirelessly against occupation, oppression, and international injustice.
Take guidance from the resistance and its leaders, those who have sacrificed everything for the liberation of Palestine and the fight against imperialism and oppression.
Samra, Occupied Palestine
References to grassroot organisations: