The militant wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Saraya al-Quds has announced that one of its members was killed in clashes with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Fatal Clashes
Both the PA and Saraya al-Quds reported that their forces clashed a short while ago in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, leading to the death of one member of Saraya al-Quds Tulkarem Brigade.
It is unclear how exactly clashes began, with the stories from the PA and Saraya al-Quds differing on the matter.
According to the PA, Saraya al-Quds militants travelling in a vehicle opened fire on a PA patrol, prompting them to respond with force.
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According to Saraya al-Quds, however, the vehicle of Ahmad Abu Al-Ful, the militant killed, was targeted without him having fired first.
Both Hamas and Saraya al-Quds released statements on the matter, which may be read below:
Saraya al-Quds – Tulkarem Brigade:
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate,
“Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is capable of giving them victory.”
O great masses of our people, O the free and the honorable, we address you as matters have reached a significant level, surpassing treachery, betrayal, and normalization.
We address you as your sons who have only emerged to defend your honor, your sanctities, and the soil of your violated and usurped land. We were never bandits, thieves, nor merchants of your cause which the henchmen of the occupation have sold cheaply in the market of cowardice and betrayal.
The city of Tulkarem, with its camps, has become a front of jihad and a destination loved by everyone who loves Allah and His Messenger. The path of thorns followed by those who reached Allah’s pleasure before us annoys the enemies of Allah and everyone who aids them.
The Security Forces of the traitorous [Palestinian] Authority confronted us with a heinous crime, worse than its predecessors; from you, we have only known betrayal and the pursuit and handover of the honorable to the enemies of Allah, and the crushing of every jihad effort in the West Bank.
The [Security] Forces of treachery targeted the car of the fighter Ahmad Abu Al-Ful, shooting him directly, and it was later announced that he was martyred after attempts at resuscitation. This crime is just like any assassination operation by the special “israeli” units, such as the assassination of Jihad Shehadeh, Izz al-Din Awad, and their brothers in Tulkarem, Al-Shishani [Adham Mabrouka] and his brothers in Nablus, and Al-Saif [Abu Libdeh] and his comrades on the road to Arraba.
The martyr, the fighter Ahmad Abu Al-Ful, a member of the Tulkarem Brigade in Saraya Al-Quds, everyone attests that he joined his brothers in confronting the occupation with every incursion into the city, whether in Tulkarem camp or Nour Shams camp.
So O honorable people of this nation, is this the reward for someone who stood and fought the world’s fiercest armies for more than fifty hours? Is this the reward for someone those who offered more than 70 martyrs, who does not accept dishonor in their religion, who refuses betrayal and strives for the liberation of the land from the filth of the oppressors?
But by Allah, your silence on the injustice of the oppressors and the betrayal of the traitors is but knives cutting us into pieces. By your deadly silence, you have left us to the dogs to tear our flesh with voracity and tranquility.
O sons of our great people, we mobilize you all to come out in marches of anger and disobedience against this corrupt regime, and to stand as one man with your brothers, the fighters defending your honor and sacred sites.
And Allah is dominant over His affair, but most people do not know.
Your loyal brothers and soldiers,
Nour Shams Camp Brigade,
Tulkarem Camp Brigade,
In all its military formations.
Hamas:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We mourn the martyr of Tulkarem and confirm that the pursuit of fighters in the West Bank by the Security Forces of the [Palestinian] Authority is a political disgrace and a national downfall that serves only the occupation.
We strongly condemn the firing by the [Palestinian] Authority’s Security Forces this evening at a group of fighters, which led to the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmad Abu Al-Ful, one of the heroic and wanted members of the Tulkarem Brigade.
As we mourn the heroic martyr, we confirm that the Security Forces of the Authority continue to pursue, arrest them, and even target them directly with weapons in light of our people’s fateful battle against the zionist occupation.
We denounce the attacks of the Authority’s Security Forces on our people and our fighters, and we call for all to assume their responsibility to end these unacceptable practices, and to direct these Forces to their proper path and duty in protecting our people and social fabric.
We call on our people in Tulkarem and throughout the West Bank, from institutions and families to popular and national activities, to unite and bond, standing together against the tools of security chaos, and to unify efforts to confront the occupation and its settlers’ crimes against our land and sanctities.
Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas
Clashes between the PA and Palestinian militant groups occur semi-frequently. Although the PA’s security forces are separate from the IDF, they are oftentimes viewed as collaborationist due to their coordination with IDF forces.
As such, they remain at odds with the various Palestinian militant organizations of the West Bank, who insist upon violent resistance to Israel.
Tulkarem is one of many militant hotbeds in the West Bank. Nablus, Jenin, and Ramallah also experience high amounts of militant activity.
