PA Police Deny They Killed a Jenin Journalist

A Palestinian journalist was killed, Saturday evening in the Jenin refugee camp, north of the West Bank, as Palestinian security forces continued a military operation in the camp, claiming they were after outlaws. The security forces denied being present at the location where Shaatha Al-Sabbagh was shot daed.

However the Al-Sabbagh’s family whilst mourning their daughter stated Shatha Al-Sabbagh “was martyred by a sniper’s bullet from the security forces of the Palestinian Authority and maintained it was “a fully-fledged crime committed by them in the city of Jenin.

They called on “all human rights and humanitarian institutions, local and international, to take immediate action to investigate this crime and hold accountable all those involved in planning and execution”, according to Anadolu.

However, he official spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, Brigadier General Anwar Rajab, denied the presence of security forces at the location of Al-Sabbagh’s death.

Rajab condemned what he described as “the heinous crime committed by outlaws, which resulted in the death of the journalist after she was shot in the head, and caused significant material damage to a house that was burned and randomly shot at.”

For its part, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate called for “the formation of an independent investigation committee with the participation of a representative of the syndicate to determine the truth and hold the killers accountable and prevent them from escaping punishment.”

With the killing of Sabbagh, the death toll from the Palestinian security operation in the Jenin camp in the northern occupied West Bank rose to 10, including 5 security forces and 5 citizens, including one of the leaders of the Jenin Battalion affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement.

Last Sunday, the Palestinian NGO Network, which includes 135 non-governmental organizations in the West Bank and Gaza, called for “dialogue as a way to address the Jenin crisis,” stressing its readiness to play a role in removing obstacles that prevent defuse the tension.

For about three weeks, Palestinian security forces have continued a military operation in the Jenin camp, under the pretext of pursuing those they called “outlaws.”

In contrast, Palestinian factions, including Hamas, the Popular Front, and Islamic Jihad, have accused the Palestinian security services of pursuing the resistance fighters.

A state of tension prevails in the city of Jenin and its camp, and sounds of explosions and exchanges of gunfire are heard from time to time.