Anwar Rajab, the official spokesman for the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces, said on Thursday that since the PA began its military operation in Jenin, “three militants have been killed and 247 criminals have been arrested, 41 of whom were injured during their resistance to arrest and clashes with security forces.”
As part of the operation, which is aimed at restoring the PA’s control over the Jenin refugee camp which had been taken over by terrorist organizations, the PA security forces, stated Rajab, managed to neutralize 17 car bombs and detonate two car bombs, one of which was near the Jenin courthouse.
Rajab also said that the security forces uncovered three workshops for manufacturing explosive devices that were set up in residential neighborhoods, and 16 weapons caches, some of which were located in mosques or charitable organizations.
The spokesman for the security forces noted that eight people were arrested on suspicion of receiving illegal funding, channels for transferring financial aid from abroad were exposed, and large sums of money in dollars and shekels that were on their way to criminals were confiscated.
He added that armed operatives attempted to plant explosive devices at the entrances to the Jenin refugee camp, but the security forces succeeded in thwarting this plan.
"The results are satisfactory for us, and we will continue our operation in the Jenin camp until all the perpetrators are arrested and the situation inside the camp changes," he said.
The Palestinian Arab news agency Quds Press reported, meanwhile, that since the start of the security forces' operation, 14 people have been killed in Jenin, including six security force operatives, and eight residents, including one of the commanders of the Jenin brigades who belongs to Islamic Jihad.
The PA security forces’ operations in Jenin are part of their efforts to prove to the US administration that they can be a responsible party for security in the Gaza Strip after Israel's withdrawal.
The PA controls security in Area A of Judea and Samaria, of which Jenin is a part, and its security forces have repeatedly arrested members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations during crackdowns on the groups.