More than a year has passed since the armed terrorist groups began to arise in northern Samaria and carry out attacks against IDF soldiers and settlers, and this week a new terrorist group announced its establishment in the city of Tulkarm under the name Tulkarm Battalion.
The group’s Telegram channel also reported on the establishment of the rapid reaction groups, the establishment of these groups is a response to the IDF operation in the city of Nablus on February 22 in which 12 Palestinians were killed, at least 6 of them armed terrorists from the terrorist group Lions Den.
The new group called the Tulkarm Battalion has already announced two shooting attacks this week, one at the Avnei Hefetz settlement east of the city of Tulkarm and the other at the Zemer military checkpoint.
The new battalion was established in memory of Raid Karmi, commander of the Alaqsa Martyrs Battalions of Fatah’s military wing who was assassinated by the IDF at the beginning of the second intifada.
The joining of the city of Tulkarm to the circle of terror in northern Samaria is a very dangerous development, thereby the armed Palestinians complete the establishment of the triangle of fear and terror (Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarm) and break away from the PA’s conversions.
The coordination of the security control in the area is between the Lions Den group and the Jenin Battalion and the Tulkarm Battalion, the PA is no longer a factor influencing the area.
Fatah’s military wing has reorganized its ranks in Judea and Samaria and is advocating an armed struggle against Israel and coordinating its operations with the battalions under the responsibility of the Islamic Jihad organization.
It openly violates the presidential decree issued by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in 2007, which prohibits the establishment of armed groups and militias in the West Bank.
Ihab Jarad, secretary general of the Fatah movement in the Tulkarm area, says that the establishment of the battalion in Tulkarm is a natural development given the prevailing situation in the city, similar to what happened in the cities of Jenin and Nablus following the occupation.
According to him, the armed groups arose in the area in the absence of a political horizon and the increase in hostilities on the part of Israel and in the shadow of the Palestinian Authority’s inability to end the conflict with Israel.
The establishment of the Tulkarm Battalion is another sign of the PA’s weakening in northern Samaria, it is not just a matter of the physical presence of this force in the areas where the PA had exclusive control over the Oslo Accords, these are very worrying signs and the PA continues its process of weakening.
In fact, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas gave up the Palestinian Authority’s security control in the northern West Bank, in the area itself, about 6 new terrorist groups operating under the name of battalions, contrary to the policy of the Palestinian Authority, are the ones that control the area from a security point of view and are a danger to Israel
The terrorist groups recognized the security vacuum and the fact that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is not interested in an internal conflict with the new terrorist groups, he is afraid of upsetting them and they are doing whatever they want.
The new security reality created in the northern West Bank is a challenge for the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the Palestinian Authority has not yet begun to implement the new security plan formulated by American General Mike Fenzel, new security personnel have not yet been recruited who are supposed to undergo military training in Jordan for a few months and then return to the West Bank and be deployed in the north as a counterweight against the armed terrorist groups.
The terror monster continues to grow in northern Samaria and continue the attacks, Israel will not be able to accept the newly created situation and will have to act otherwise the terrorism will reach the territory of Israel itself.
Senior security officials say that the political echelon will have to make the decision soon because it is impossible to sit and wait for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to start fighting terrorism.
Time is pressing in Israel, the Israeli hesitancy is interpreted on the ground by the terrorist groups as weakness, they both assess that Israel’s hands are tied by the Biden administration and they feel a sense of euphoria and victory that only encourages the execution of more attacks.
