​​​​​​​Next stage of West Bank armed struggle will be centered in Nablus

By Robert Inlakesh

Since the decisive battle of Saif al-Quds in 2021, the occupied West Bank has continued to develop another front for the armed struggle against the Israeli regime.

The success of the newly-formed armed groups throughout the occupied territories will be the deciding factor in foiling the regime’s expansionist plans and the next stage is for Nablus to become a base of this spirited armed struggle.

In September 2021, after months of organizing that began with a small band of fighters commanded by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s Jamil Amoudi, the Jenin Brigades officially announced their formation.

What began as a small number of cells, composed of no more than a few dozen fighters, primarily based out of the Jenin refugee camp, has today grown into a much more formidable armed group; whose fighters number close to a thousand throughout Jenin.

As Tel Aviv’s tactics inside West Bank became more violent, this only encouraged the recruitment of more Palestinian resistance fighters and the establishment of more resistance groups.

In February 2022, an Israeli special forces unit, colloquially known as Yamam and attached to its border force, opened fire on a civilian car in which three Palestinians from the unofficial Fatah party-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades were traveling. 

Israeli occupation forces fired around 80 bullets into the car in broad daylight inside Nablus, killing the three young men immediately.

Starting point of new escalation

This was the starting point to a new era of escalation, as it was the first West Bank assassination of its kind in over 15 years.

After a number of Palestinian attacks were carried out in Tel Aviv and other Israeli-occupied cities inside occupied Palestine, the Israeli military launched “Operation Break the Wave” on March 31, 2022.

The merciless approach of the occupation forces was to frequently raid and besiege entire Palestinian cities, refugee camps, and towns, with a trigger-happy approach that led to the most deadly year for West Bank Palestinians since 2005, according to the United Nations.

After the inauguration of the most far-right Israeli coalition late last year, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the violence has only grown in scale in 2023, with over 100 Palestinians being killed in the occupied West Bank this year so far by Israeli fire.

Despite the repression faced by Palestinians, who have formed armed groups to protect their areas from marauding Zionist forces, the armed struggle has only grown over the past years.

Now, armed groups exist throughout Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Ariha (Jericho), Bethlehem, and smaller cells that are yet to announce themselves are operating in Ramallah and al-Khalil (Hebron).

Almost one year after the Jenin Brigades announced their formation, in September 2022, out of the Old City of Nablus, the Lion's Den officially announced their formation and signed their existence with the blood of an Israeli soldier that their operatives managed to shoot dead shortly afterward.

At this stage, the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s security forces have lost a great deal of their security power inside Jenin, specifically in the Jenin refugee camp, and are unable to prevent the armed groups from confronting the occupation army.

Although Israeli forces routinely raid Jenin and carry out frequent massacres there, Jenin is tolerable for them as it is currently, so long as the balance of power between the PA forces and the resistance remains.

Despite the growth of Jenin Brigades posing a threat to this illegitimate regime, this force is not seen as one that will mount serious attacks at this time but is instead seen as a largely defensive unit.

Growth of resistance in Nablus

According to an informed source, who has direct contact with the Palestinian Authority leadership in the city, the big issue for Israel is the growth of the resistance groups inside Nablus.

The reason why the Nablus resistance is a bigger threat than the Jenin is primarily based on geography, that means that in the case of Jenin, it is surrounded by hills and also is not in direct proximity to many Israeli settlements, which in turn means the resistance forces are somewhat contained there.

Whereas, in the case of Nablus, it is quite literally surrounded by illegal Israeli settlements from all sides, with the terrain making it more simple for resistance fighters to begin posing serious risks to illegal settlers and their sense of security.

The same source, who chose to remain anonymous for security reasons, claimed that the PA is worried that due to Nablus being a major city if the resistance becomes widespread in the city itself, they fear that a domino effect could occur, where we see the armed resistance groups spread to other major cities in the occupied West Bank.

At this time, the majority of activities of the resistance fighters are contained to the Old City, where the Lion's Den is based, or in the refugee camps like Balata camp and Askar camp, but not the actual city of Nablus itself.

If Nablus City becomes a hub for the resistance and the presence of armed groups there becomes widespread, these images will spread like wildfire throughout the West Bank and will inspire similar actions in places like Ramallah, or at least this is what PA fears.

At this point, the PA security forces are faced with a dilemma in their view: confront the resistance forces directly or support them against Zionists.

The idea of major Palestinian cities, which according to the Oslo Accords should fall under the direct security control of the PA forces, falling into the hands of armed resistance groups, scares Israel to its core.

From there, a major West Bank force could emerge that would be in close proximity to settlements and which could achieve mass participation.

Already the resistance forces are overwhelmingly popular with the majority of Palestinians, especially those of the younger generation.

The expansion of the resistance forces in Nablus, to extend across the city, will completely transform the struggle against the occupation inside the West Bank and this is something that the occupation army is likely preparing to confront, or launch a military operation to prevent the spread.

Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer and political analyst, who has lived in and reported from the occupied West Bank.

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