After a prolonged shootout in which a fighter from the Border Police's undercover unit was injured, the terrorist Muhammad Ufi was neutralized on Sunday March 3rd. Ufi was an operative of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah party led by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). The IDF spokesperson's statement on the shootout conspicuously omitted the organizational affiliation of the terrorist.
A joint statement by the Israeli police, Shin Bet, and the IDF about the battle said, “An operation directed by the Shin Bet, IDF and undercover Border Police operatives in Judea and Samaria eliminated a senior wanted terrorist in Tul Karem and led to the arrests of three other individuals." Notably there is no mention of the organizational affiliation of the terrorists, potentially leaving the impression that they were affiliated with Hamas or another terrorist group.
The statement goes on to say that Ufi was involved in shooting attacks against IDF forces and Israeli communities, and was also suspected of involvement in the murder of Tul Karem residents who were suspected of collaborating with Israel.
Another terrorist neutralized a few days ago on Sunday March 3rd, was Anas Duchiat, an officer in the Palestinian National Security Forces. A PA military funeral was held for him the following day. According to Arab reports, Duchiat is the "47th martyr" from the PA security forces in the past year, where the term‘martyr’ in this context refers to those killed in attacks against Jews and Israel.
As we have reported previously at HaKol HaYehudi, many left-wing organizations in Israel, as well as elements from the security establishment and foreign countries aim to establish a Palestinian state after the current war. Towards this end it seems they have worked to deny the Fatah Party’s increasing involvement in attacks and terrorism. It is further worth noting that even the PA security forces, who are claimed to collaborate with Israel, have been involved in numerous attacks.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has been playing a duplicitous games, much like his predecessor Yasser Arafat. On the one hand, there are the official “security” forces that supposedly cooperate with Israel, while on the other are the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members and the local Fatah party leaders who regularly praise and even participate in terrorism.
Many members of the PA security forces have been eliminated since Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021 while shooting at IDF forces or carrying out terror attacks. Furthermore, many members of the PA security forces take part in "double parking" - by day severing in the official PA security forces and by night carrying out attacks against IDF soldiers as part of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
The exact number of neutralized terrorists who served in the PA security forces is not publicized and both the IDF and the Civil Administration have refused to provide the information, however our estimate is that over 100 such examples exist. This is in addition to hundreds of other members of the PA security forces who are still actively participating in attacks against the IDF. The two examples earlier from this past week are just a few of many cases where the IDF spokesman has systematically avoided reported on the organizational affiliations of neutralized terrorists from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade.
About two weeks ago, IDF forces surrounded a house in Tul Karem and implemented the "pressure cooker" procedure. At the end of these efforts, three terrorists were eliminated, including Muatzim Al-Ali, the commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Tul Karem, and a cousin of the Palestinian Authority Minister for the Struggle Against Walls and Settlements, Muayad Shaban.
The Palestinian Authority organized a military funeral for the three terrorists. Footage from the funeral shows members of the Palestinian Authority carrying the stretchers of the deceased terrorists through streets of the city. Also on display at the funerals was a large banner with the insignia of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The Secretary of the Fatah Movement in Tul Karem also attended the funeral procession for the three terrorists. Shortly after, a conference of the Fatah movement was held in the city and included a march by dozens of Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade terrorists. At the conference, the mother of one of the slain terrorists was photographed with weapons and ammunition belonging to her son. Likewise, local Fatah Secretary Muayad Shaban delivered yet another speech while standing besides armed terrorists of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Just as during the Second Intifada, when the IDF failed to recognize the involvement of Fatah in terrorist operations, the IDF today is once again ignoring the PA’s role in supporting terror.
Over the past 15 years, the IDF has made coordination with the Palestinian Authority a cornerstone of its security approach. The Coordination Division within the Civil Administration has gained tremendous power and now regularly overrules other division on many matters of security. For example, many IDF operations have been called off to avoid disruptions to the "security coordination" with the PA.
Even more troubling is the systematic concealment of the involvement of Fatah activists and members fo the Palestinian Security Forces in terror attacks. Such attacks are often reported as having been carried out by “lone wolf" attackers and the affiliation of the attacker has not been reported.
The IDF attempts to presents the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as rogue elements from the Fatah Party, and suggests that the Palestinian Authority has no control over them. This is despite numerous examples of shared ties and regular interactions between Fatah leaders serving in the Palestinian Authority and members of the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade terror group.
