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PA Forces Launch Rare Counter-Terror Op Amid Fears of Coup
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
JNS.org – Palestinian Authority forces are carrying out a rare operation against terrorist organizations in the Samaria city of Jenin due to fears that they could attempt a coup inspired by the rebel takedown of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria.
The operation, dubbed “Defense of the Homeland,” was launched by Ramallah following the Dec. 5 seizure by Hamas and Islamic Jihad of a P.A. “military” vehicle in the Jenin camp, a hotbed of Iranian-backed terrorism, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Sunday.
According to Arab media reports, two Palestinian terrorists have so far been killed by the P.A., including Yazid Jaysa, a leader in the Islamic Jihad-led Jenin Brigades who was reportedly also wanted by Israel.
In addition, at least 14 Palestinians were wounded in the clashes, and an unknown number of suspects were arrested, according to local reports.
Several explosives detonated as P.A. forces took control of four districts of the “refugee camp” over the weekend. Ramallah said its forces worked to neutralize a bomb that was to be used against “civilians and security forces as part of a criminal act that reflects the approach of ISIS.”
The operation is being carried out at the order of P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas and is being commanded by Maj. Gen. Nidal Abu Dukhan, the head of the Palestinian Authority’s National Security Forces (NSF). P.A. Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa also visited Jenin on Saturday, where he received a security briefing from senior P.A. officials.
Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, which Israel signed with the PLO in the 1990s, the newly created P.A. was tasked with fighting terrorism in parts of Judea and Samaria.
In recent years, Iranian-backed terrorist groups have taken over cities and towns in northern Samaria, including Jenin and Tulkarem, prompting the Israel Defense Forces to carry out counter-terror raids.
IDF soldiers have not entered Jenin over the past two weeks to give the P.A. “a real opportunity to act,” according to Sunday’s Channel 12 report.
‘The regime must fall’
Hamas in recent weeks has urged Palestinians to take to the streets of Judea and Samaria and demonstrate against Ramallah’s alleged crackdown on terrorism, with Jenin residents heeding the call.
In a statement last week, the terrorist group condemned “the continued actions of the security services of the P.A. in pursuing resistance fighters and those wanted by the occupation [i.e., Israel], as well as the ongoing targeting of them in all governorates of the West Bank, especially in Jenin.”
During a Dec. 10 funeral procession in Jenin, terrorists could be heard chanting, “The regime must fall. Abbas and his entourage must fall. The people want to end the regime.” They also praised the Iranian regime.
Also last week, Palestinian media reported that Islamic Jihad terrorists from Tulkarem in western Samaria shot at the headquarters of the P.A. police in the city, lightly wounding two officers.
Israel’s defense establishment is monitoring the situation in Judea and Samaria, fearing a domino effect that could lead to the collapse of the P.A. following the events in Syria, Army Radio reported on Dec. 11.
“We are closely and vigilantly monitoring what is happening. We fear unrest, rapid deterioration and a contagion effect like we saw in Syria,” unnamed security sources told the radio station.
According to Army Radio’s sources, the P.A.’s collapse might cause “a wave of terrorism and a complete loss of stability in the area.”
On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to raise the state of alert in Judea and Samaria and prepare for a possible uptick in terrorist attacks. Katz ordered the military to increase the protection of communities and traffic arteries due to fears that terrorists could be inspired by the rapid takeover of Syria, he noted in a statement.
Katz said in the statement, “Israel is determined to defend its borders and communities in the south, north and east against any threat—we will not allow a return to the reality of before October 7, [2023].”
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Algemeiner Unveils 11th Annual ‘J100’ List at Gala Featuring Douglas Murray, Matisyahu
British author Douglas Murray speaking at The Algemeiner’s 11th annual “J100” gala in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: FotoBuddy
The Algemeiner unveiled its 11th annual “J100” list of the top 100 people “positively influencing Jewish life” on Tuesday night at a gala in New York City.
The event took on special significance this year, with Israel having been at war every single day since the Hamas-led invasion of the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023, and fighting for its survival on several fronts — most notably against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis Yemen, and Iran itself. Meanwhile, antisemitism has simultaneously surged around the world during the conflict, with antisemitic incidents reaching record levels in several countries including the United States.
The spike in antisemitism and the war between Israel and Iran’s network of Middle Eastern terrorist proxies featured prominently in speeches throughout the gala. However, many of the speakers struck an optimistic tone, noting Israel’s recent string of victories against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Fifteen months have now passed since the Jewish state went to war, since the Jewish people went to war. A terrible price has been paid,” said event co-chair Dovid Efune. “But it is a different world now. Israel has out-maneuvered its foes at every turn in a complex, multi-front war … The Jewish state has doused Iran’s ring of fire and replaced it with a ring of Israeli iron.”
The acclaimed British author Douglas Murray — who, as Free Press founder Bari Weiss noted in her remarks introducing him, has emerged since Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught as one of the fiercest defenders of Israel and the Jewish people — noted that the atrocities of the Hamas attack marked “the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.” He also noted the “deep challenge ” of combating pro-Hamas demonstrators across the West flirting with “the most dangerous, evil imaginable.”
“What does it say about us and the society which we’ve allowed to emerge?” he asked.
However, Murray continued, he was hopeful for the future after recently spending months with the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“The real warriors are very clear. We all know who they are,” Murray said. “They are these remarkable young men and women. And we owe them everything. And the civilized world owes them everything.”
Murray was one of the honorees at the gala, along with Jewish singer-songwriter Matisyahu and philanthropists David and Debra Magerman.
Matisyahu, who was honored for his outspoken support for Israel and the Jewish people, said during his remarks that he reexamined his Jewish identity and faith following the deadly Hamas-orchestrated terrorist attack in Israel that took place on Oct. 7, 2023.
“After Oct. 7, I believe there was a paradigm shift. I was immediately forced to ask myself the question of what it means to be Jewish again and how important it is to be,” he said. “What does it mean to be a Jew now after Oct 7? Prior, the main division, seemingly, religion. But it seems that we elevated above that in a need to find each other. We are forced again to look inward. To ask ourselves: What does it mean to be a Jew? What does Israel have to do with being a Jew? If you don’t find the answer, the rest of the world will gladly find it for you, and whatever story they choose to make up — it’s not our story. The story of Moses and the Jews.”
The singer added, “May we continue to look within to find the answers we hold and may the shining star of Israel blaze forever.”
The gala also featured comments from Michal Lobanov, the widow of murdered Hamas hostage Alex Lobanov.
“After 11 months of unbearable suffering, on Aug. 29 [Alex] was murdered in Tel Sultan in Rafa,” Michal recalled. Along with other hostages kidnapped last Oct. 7, “their dead bodies were found in a tunnel in horrible conditions. Believe me, I saw this with my own eyes, the horrors that my Alex went through, together with the five hostages are the same horrors that happened in the Holocaust. Yes, we went through a Holocaust for the second time in history; there is no other way to describe it.”
The gala and Lobanov’s comments came one day before Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire to halt fighting in Gaza and release hostages as part of a phased deal.
Algemeiner publisher and chairman Simon Jacobson also spoke on Tuesday night and laid out the stakes of the current conflict, arguing that the events of today will shape the world of tomorrow in profound ways.
“We’re living in historic times. Events that are happening now are not just going to shape today, tomorrow, but the entire future,” Jacobson said during the event in New York City. “Every one of us senses it, whether it’s events, the different countries around the world, leaderships in crisis, but especially, which is close to our hearts, the Middle East, Israel, the Jewish people.”
Past Algemeiner gala honorees and participants have included the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel; actors Sharon Stone, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Jesse Eisenberg; human rights activist Garry Kasparov; the late entertainer Joan Rivers; media mogul Rupert Murdoch; former Czech President Miloš Zeman; the late TV host Larry King; Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad; and Natan Sharansky, the famed refusenik and international campaigner against antisemitism.
Founded in 1972 as a Yiddish broadsheet by the late veteran journalist Gershon Jacobson, The Algemeiner today runs this news website.
The post Algemeiner Unveils 11th Annual ‘J100’ List at Gala Featuring Douglas Murray, Matisyahu first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dovid Efune: ‘The Jewish State Has Doused Iran’s Ring of Fire’
Dovid Efune speaking at The Algemeiner’s 11th annual “J100” gala in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: FotoBuddy
At The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual “J100” gala on Tuesday night, the event’s co-chair, Dovid Efune, described Israel’s recent military successes.
“Fifteen months have now passed since the Jewish state went to war, since the Jewish people went to war. A terrible price has been paid,” Efune said. “But it is a different world now. Israel has out-maneuvered its foes at every turn in a complex, multi-front war.”
The crowd applauded.
Efune said that Israel “has firmly reestablished in the eyes of all, a role as a regional superpower. Israel’s young soldiers have shown themselves to be more valiant and more committed to their cause than their fanatic terrorist enemies. Its vaunted intelligence agencies have seized the initiative, reminding the world that the Jewish state’s knack for innovation has multiple applications.”
Invoking Israel’s series of hits against the heads of Hamas and Hezbollah, Efune said “we watched in awe, the systematic elimination of a line-up of Middle East terror chiefs. Those who remain are in hiding. The Jewish state has doused Iran’s ring of fire and replaced it with a ring of Israeli iron. The walls of David’s citadel again stand tall and firm.”
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Algemeiner Publisher Simon Jacobson: ‘Times Like This Define Who’s Standing Up for Moral Clarity’
The Algemeiner’s publisher and chairman Simon Jacobson speaking at the 11th annual “J100” gala in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: FotoBuddy
At The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual “J100” gala on Tuesday night, publisher and chairman Simon Jacobson issued a call for action.
“We’re living in historic times. Events that are happening now are not just going to shape today, tomorrow, but the entire future,” Jacobson said during the event in New York City. “Every one of us senses it, whether it’s events, the different countries around the world, leaderships in crisis, but especially, which is close to our hearts, the Middle East, Israel, the Jewish people.”
Jacobson continued, “So, as chairman of The Algemeiner, I feel especially honored that we are part of making history because it’s times like this that define who’s standing up for moral clarity amidst all the confusion, for values that we all cherish, that are the foundations and the basis of all civilization. That’s the time we’re in, literally every day.”
Describing three types of people — those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who ask “what happened” — Jacobson said “all of you right here and The Algemeiner, are people who make things happen. We don’t just stand at the sidelines and react but are pro-active. This is the time.”
The post Algemeiner Publisher Simon Jacobson: ‘Times Like This Define Who’s Standing Up for Moral Clarity’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.