PA leadership encourages Palestinians to fight against Israel
Headline: “The [PA] leadership decides to cut off all contacts and stop all meetings with the Israeli side, and to continue the cessation of security coordination”
“The Palestinian [PA] leadership decided to cut off all contacts and stop all meetings with the Israeli side, and to continue the cessation of security coordination.
This was said in a statement issued following the special meeting held by the Palestinian leadership led by [PA] President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, at the [PA] presidential headquarters in Ramallah yesterday evening [July 3, 2023], in order to discuss the ongoing Israeli aggression against Jenin and its refugee camp (refers to 2023 Operation Home and Garden; see note below -Ed.)…
The following is an excerpt of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ speech at the start of the meeting -Ed.
In the name of All Merciful Allah,
‘Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory’ [Quran 22:39, Sahih International translation], Allah spoke the truth.
A blessing of honor and admiration to the sons and daughters of our lauded Palestinian people who are heroically fighting the Israeli occupation army’s daily aggression and the settler herds’ terror, and who are defending themselves, their homes, and their property with resolve and determination that inspire pride.
Blessings to the Martyrs who are ascending to Heaven, who with their pure blood are writing the testimony of the Palestinian truth, which the occupation will not be able to blur out despite all the terror and aggression.
Blessings to the heroic wounded, the brave prisoners, and those carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) who are preserving the spark of resolve and determination against this barbaric and aggressive occupation. In light of this barbaric aggression, and especially what is happening in the heroic Jenin refugee camp and in brave Jenin, we again demand that the international community provide urgent international protection to our people, impose sanctions on the occupation entity, and condemn this terrorist aggression.
In light of these challenges and the dangers imposed on us, the Palestinian leadership convened a meeting today. I also call on the secretary-generals of all the Palestinian factions to hold a special meeting to deal with these dangers.
I have instructed the [PA] government and its [Security] Forces to provide all that it needed to strengthen the resolve of our people in Jenin and the rest of the territories of the State of Palestine. In these difficult moments, I call on our people to stand firm. I call on everyone to unite and defend the land, the holy sites, and our people’s legitimate rights – freedom, independence, and ending the occupation in the territories of the State of Palestine, whose capital is Jerusalem. In the end the occupation will pass from the world.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 4, 2023]
2023 Operation Home and Garden - an Israeli counter-terror operation in Jenin that lasted from July 3-5, 2023. The operation targeted terror infrastructure in the city, and particularly the Islamic Jihad-affiliated terror group the Jenin Brigade, after 50 terror attacks had originated from the city and 19 terrorists had fled to it since the start of 2023. Israeli soldier David Yehuda Yitzhak, 23, was killed during the operation, while at least 18 Palestinian terrorists were killed and over 300 terror suspects were arrested. During the operation, Israeli forces attacked a terror headquarters located next to a medical clinic and two schools, one of them belonging to UNRWA. Several weapons factories were discovered containing hundreds of explosives and weapons caches. Terrorists opened fire on Israeli forces from within a mosque in the Jenin refugee camp, and after gaining control of the site, the Israeli forces discovered weapons caches including explosives and entrances to underground tunnels in the mosque's basement.