[Palestinians responded to Israels "massacre" in Jenin with
protests and resistance across the West Bank, including an attack on
an East Jerusalem settlement where at least seven Israelis were
killed. ]
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A DAY OF PROTEST AND RESISTANCE ACROSS PALESTINE  
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Mariam Barghouti
January 27, 2023
Mondoweiss
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_ Palestinians responded to Israel's "massacre" in Jenin with
protests and resistance across the West Bank, including an attack on
an East Jerusalem settlement where at least seven Israelis were
killed. _

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Youssef Yahya Abdel Karim
Mohsen, 22, who was killed by Israeli gunfire in the town of Al-Ram in
East Jerusalem., Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/APAimages

 

On Thursday, January 26, Israeli forces invaded Jenin refugee camp and
killed nine Palestinians in what became called by residents of the
camp ‘a massacre
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Later that day, 22-year-old Yousef Abedalkarim Muhsein became the 10th
Palestinian killed when he was shot by Israeli forces in Al-Ram, near
Ramallah.

On Friday, Palestinians responded.

Throughout Friday, Palestinians across historic Palestine rose in
protests. These confrontations were driven by the massacre in Jenin
specifically, and the routine provocations from Israeli settlers,
intelligence, and armed forces
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engaged in the illegal annexation of
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little which remains of the West Bank. 

The day culminated with five armed shooting operations carried out
across the West Bank Friday night, including one in the Israeli
settlement of Neve Yaakov in occupied East Jerusalem, which resulted
in the death of at least seven Israeli settlers. 

PRAYER AS PROTEST

At dawn hours on Friday, the holiest day of the week for Muslim
worshippers, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem and
hundreds in Hebron performed dawn prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque and the
Ibrahimi mosque, respectively. 

“There is a danger,” Jalal Abu-Khater, a writer from Jerusalem
tells _Mondoweiss. _“We feel Al-Aqsa is being taken over and this
isn’t in our head,” he emphasized. “This is very real, where
we’re losing our last place of sovereignty in Jerusalem.”

The act of collective prayer in these specific areas has become a
defiant act of resistance amid the continued settler invasions and
police violence witnessed in the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old
City and settler-military attacks in Hebron’s Old City where more
than 800 settlers live protected by Israeli forces
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In Jerusalem, Palestinians rose in chants in support of Jenin and the
resistance from Gaza in light of the continued repression and
targeting of Palestinians. 

“Being frequently present there in this place allows us to remain
attached to it,” Abu Khater explained. “It’s a common place for
many people in the world, but it’s a personal space for us in
Jerusalem.” 

Indeed, on January 3 of this year, the extremist right-wing Minister
of Interior, Itamar Ben-Gvir, entered Al-Aqsa compound in a
provocation attempt
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that mirrored the former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s entry
to the compound in September of 2000
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entry sparked the second Palestinian uprising.

Today, Nafeesa Khuwais, a Palestinian elder known in the Old City as a
guardian of Al-Aqsa, was arrested and escorted out by a group of armed
border police.  In Arabic, the civilians which remain in the Aqsa
compound in order to protect it and maintain Palestinian presence in
the holy place of worship are known as _Murabiteen, _which means the
guardians who station against aggression.

In a similar effort, Palestinians in Hebron are often denied entry to
the Ibrahimi mosque. This became policy after the 1994 massacre by the
Israeli-American settler, Baruch Goldstein who- with the support of
the Israeli military- entered the mosque at dawn prayers and opened
fire on worshippers, killing 29 Palestinians
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Goldstein is still celebrated
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by settlers in Hebron in an annual ceremony. 

Last year was a record year for settler violence
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and Palestinian displacement. At dawn on Friday, however, the streets
of Hebron’s [[link removed]] Old city were full
of Palestinians who shared food and bread, bringing life to the
streets which- once vibrant- have become a ghost town.

“Going to pray there is a political act in and of itself, and
that’s why it’s important,” Abu Khater elaborated. 

DEMONSTRATIONS ACROSS PALESTINE

Friday morning and afternoon were full of protests and confrontations
against Israeli violence and persistent settler expansion. 

In the West Bank, Yousef Abedalkarim Muhsein’s funeral procession
moved from Ramallah hospital compound on Friday morning, headed
towards his town of Al-Ram where he was buried. Videos of the final
farewell to Muhsein show his friends and community members throwing
themselves over his body as they prepare to lay him to rest.

Confrontations ensued in Al-Ram following the funeral, with youth
hurling stones at Israeli forces who threw teargas, live ammunition,
and stun grenades at demonstrators. Israeli soldiers also prevented
journalists from covering the demonstrations and Muhsein’s funeral
procession.

More protests occurred near military stations, settlements, and
checkpoints in villages and towns around Jericho, Nablus, Qalqilya,
Ramallah, Hebron, and Jerusalem, where Israeli armed forces responded
with force.

“From Kufr Nima to Jenin, we are a united people which does not
die,” the chants echoed in the small village of Kufr Nima, 13 km
northwest of Ramallah. Across the demonstrations, various factional
flags were carried, signaling the continued growth of unification
across the country. 

On Friday evening, Palestinian citizens of Israel in Umm el-Fahem and
Haifa also organized protests against the massacre in Jenin. “Raise
your voice,” protestors chanted in Haifa, “raise, raise again, the
sound of the chants,” they continued as Israeli police attempted to
break apart the group. 

Two Palestinians were arrested in Umm el-Fahem and at least three in
Haifa, according to local news sources. 

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip also denounced the massacre in Jenin
and joined in protests which broke out late Thursday evening. Dozens
of Palestinians protested near the imposed Israeli border near Khan
Younis city, south of the strip, while hundreds of Palestinians in
Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, also joined protests and
burned tires. 

Palestinians in Gaza protest against the killing of 9 Palestinians
during an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp by stepping on a
poster of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, on
January 27, 2023. (Photo: Ashraf Amra/ APA Images)

 

OFFICIAL RESPONSES

“Security coordination with the government of the occupation is no
longer an open consideration,” the Palestinian Authority’s
presidential office spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rdeineh said in a
statement following Thursday’s Israeli raid on Jenin.  

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has historically threatened to cut
security ties with Israel but continued in arresting Palestinians on
behalf of Israel, as witnessed in last year’s mass crackdown on the
Lions’ Den
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the armed resistance group operating out of the Old City in Nablus as
well as the intensified arrests of dozens of politically active youth
across the West Bank.

In an emergency meeting, the Palestinian Authority called for
accountability through the International Criminal Court by adding the
most recent massacre in Jenin to the criminal file against Israeli
human rights violations. In addition, the PA called for an immediate
intervention through the UN security council under its seventh charter
with respect to acts of aggression
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On behalf of the presidential office, Abu Rdeineh had also called on
all national movements to meet to agree on a collective national
vision for confronting the Israeli assault.

While the Palestinian Authority denounced the massacre in Jenin
following an emergency meeting, Palestinian factions in Gaza responded
to the massacre by firing rockets toward Ashkelon, according to local
media. The attack was conducted by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ), which is also connected to the armed resistance groups
operating from Jenin refugee camp
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Between 1:00 a.m and 4:00 a.m on Friday, Israeli warplanes began
bombing several locations affiliated to the Palestinian factions in
Al-Maghazi refugee camp located in central Gaza, as well as Beit
Hanoun, located north of Gaza. No casualties were reported. 

“The resistance in Gaza is doing its duties and defending our people
in Gaza,” Hazem Qassem, the spokesperson for Hamas, said in a
statement. The armed wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Bridges had emphasized
that Israeli warplanes will be confronted with by anti-aircraft and
ground-to-air defense.

More Palestinian factions announced their support for an armed
Palestinian response to the massacre in Jenin. The leftist political
group, the Palestinian Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also
denounced the massacre against Palestinians in Jenin and noted that
Palestinian factions in Gaza have the right to respond accordingly.

“The coming weeks will witness more Israeli escalation against our
people due to the Israeli fascist government practices and laws that
target Palestinians in all Palestine and the Palestinian prisoners,”
the spokesperson for the PFLP, Jamel Mezher, said on Friday. 

Mezher also predicted that March and April will likely see an increase
in provocative Israeli actions due to the Jewish holiday calendar, as
holidays often coincide with increased attacks on Palestinians in the
West Bank and Jerusalem. 

As protests were quelled by Israeli police and military on Friday
evening, Palestinian armed resistance activities across the West Bank
and occupied Jerusalem erupted.

THE RISE OF ARMED RESISTANCE

At approximately 8:15 p.m., a shooting attack occurred by the illegal
Israeli settlement of Neve Ya’akov
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near east Jerusalem. The shooting resulted in the killing of at least
seven Israeli settlers and injuring at least three, according to
Israeli police reports. 

Escaping towards Beit Hanina, one of the last remaining Palestinian
towns in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian man who carried out the
shooting was followed by Israeli police and killed in a shootout.
According to local sources, the attacker had used a handgun to carry
out the armed attack. 

The man was later identified by Israeli police as Alkam Khairi, 21,
from Shufaat refugee camp, north of Jerusalem. 

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu both made statements
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at the scene of the attack. Ben-Gvir pledged to “arm more and more
citizens,” while Netanyahu called the attack “one of the worst we
have seen in recent years.” The Netanyahu government’s cabinet
will reportedly meet tomorrow to discuss a response.

Between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. on Friday, a total of five armed resistance
operations were carried out across various military targets in the
West Bank. 

Armed Palestinians targeted Beit Furik military checkpoint east of
Nablus, Ofer military detention camp west of Ramallah, Beit Ummar
military tower near the illegal settlement of Karmei Tzur northwest of
Hebron, while the Jalameh checkpoint northeast of Jenin was targeted
with a home-made explosive device, according to local sources. 

In addition to this, Palestinian youth threw Molotov cocktails at
Israeli military towers located near Al-Arroub refugee camp in Hebron
while resistance fighters shot at Israeli military planes flying over
Qabatiya and Jaba’ south of Jenin. 

Following the operation in Jerusalem, Palestinians across the West
Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem went to the streets in celebration.

The day of protest and retribution followed the massacre in Jenin
which brought the number of Palestinians killed in the first three
weeks of 2023 to 32 Palestinians. Due in part to Israel’s military
assault on the West Bank launched in the spring of last year, dubbed
Operation Break the Wave, 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians
since the UN began documenting killings in 2005
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In the past two years, 557 Palestinians have been killed by settlers
or Israeli forces.

MARIAM BARGHOUTI
Mariam Barghouti is the Senior Palestine Correspondent for Mondoweiss.

* Palestine
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* Israel
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