Friday, January 24, 2025
Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza
Salute the Resistance Forces for Ending Fifteen Months of U.S./Zionist Carnage

Resistance
fighters and people of northern Gaza gather in Al-Saraya square in Gaza
City, January 19, 2025, where three Israeli captives were turned over
to the Red Cross.
• Salute the Resistance Forces for Ending Fifteen Months of U.S./Zionist Carnage
• Palestinians Celebrate End of 15 Months of U.S./Zionist Carnage in the Gaza Strip
• Release of Palestinian Prisoners as a Result of Ceasefire Agreement
Canadian Youth Demand Accountability
• Chrystia Freeland's Support for U.S./Zionist Genocide in Gaza Denounced at Campaign Launch
Important Discussion
• How Will the Gaza War Redefine Global Resistance?
• Cusp of West Bank Annexation and Settler-Militia War
Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza
Salute the Resistance Forces for Ending Fifteen Months of U.S./Zionist Carnage

Palestinians
in Gaza celebrate and start returning home on the morning of January
19, 2025 once the ceasefire comes into effect
Sunday, January 19 was the day the Ceasefire Agreement the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas imposed on Israel officially came into effect, at 8:30 am local time. The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) congratulates Hamas and all Resistance organizations who have forced Israel to retreat and sign the ceasefire on Hamas' terms.
CPC(M-L) salutes the sacrifices all Resistance fighters have made to end the occupation by the U.S./Zionist criminals and free Palestine. It expresses its profound sympathies and condolences for the suffering of the population of Gaza for which there are no words and no amount of tears will suffice to wipe away the wounds, the trauma, the losses endured. The resilience of every man, women, child, youth and person who has lived through this trauma will go down in the annals of history. The bravery, ingenuity and sacrifice of the Resistance fighters will go down in the annals of history.
This includes the contribution of the Resistance forces in Lebanon, Yemen, Iran and Iraq. Their sacrifices and steadfast blows against the U.S./Zionist occupiers and their backers have shown the entire world what it means to stand as one in defence of the just cause of the Palestinian people for freedom, democracy and peace.
CPC(M-L) also salutes the youth of this country and those from all walks of life who for 15 months have expressed their support for the Palestinian Resistance, week after week, day after day, condemning the genocide, demanding Canadian universities and institutions divest from financing apartheid Israel and genocide and demanding the government of Canada stop funding and supporting genocide in myriad ways.
The Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza is now to be enforced by the Resistance Forces in Palestine and all over the world. Meanwhile, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) are stepping up the commission of crimes to take over the West Bank, as are the settlers, with the full support of the new Trump administration which on day one in office lifted sanctions against 30 groups of Zionist settlers, thereby giving them the green light to steal Palestinian land and engage in extreme violence with impunity. The measure not surprisingly shores up the Zionist state as the trigger of the U.S. in the Middle East.
The Trump administration makes no bones about its aim to impose U.S. global hegemony, paying no heed to the International Rule of Law, the laws of war, the condemnation of Israel as a genocidal state while continuing to foment chaos, use extreme violence and criminalize the forces fighting for peace, freedom and democracy.
Audacity! Defiance! Resistance! are the watchwords going forward. The Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza opens a path to progress. It has set the line of march anew. Now is the time to turn historic success into historic victory!

Celebrating the ceasefire in Khan Yunis, January 19, 2025
Palestinians Celebrate End of 15 Months of U.S./Zionist Carnage in the Gaza Strip
People came out in droves to celebrate the Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza which came into effect on January 19. Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades joined the celebrations in military vehicles as people hailed their achievement, sacrifice and heroic deeds.
After 470 days of relentless attacks on Gaza, aimed at eliminating the Palestinian Resistance, Former Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Major General Giora Eiland, speaking to Channel 7 on Saturday evening, stated clearly that Israel had failed to achieve its objectives, Al-Mayadeen reported. The war ended in a "resounding failure for Israel," he said and declared Hamas the victor. "Hamas will recover from the severe blow it suffered, not all the hostages will return, and Israel will not eliminate Hamas' authority," he acknowledged.
The 15-month-long U.S./Zionist genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza caused near total devastation. The trauma of losing tens of thousands of women, children, newborn babies, youth, elders, family members, doctors, teachers, health care workers, journalists, civil service workers and Resistance fighters will live with them forever. Tens of thousands are dead, injured, or missing. As well, the entire population of northern Gaza has been displaced, along with all others whose neighbourhoods were turned into rubble by the relentless bombings of the U.S./Zionist forces. The governments of the U.S., Britain, Germany, Canada and all those who supported this genocide will never be forgiven.
On January 19, after the ceasefire took effect, some of the millions of forcibly displaced survivors of the U.S./Zionist carnage in the Gaza Strip began their journey back to where their homes once stood after enduring 471 days of relentless bombings, a total blockade, harsh winter conditions, and the sheer struggle to survive against all odds, Al Mayadeen wrote.

Returning home, January 19, 2025
The Ceasefire Agreement has an initial six-week phase which stipulates that 33 captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza would be released in exchange for 737 Palestinian detainees.
Negotiations for the second phase, aimed at achieving a "definitive end to the war," will take place concurrently, Qatari Prime Minister Muhammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced earlier. The remaining Israeli captives are to be released in the second phase.
The final phase is expected to centre on rebuilding Gaza and returning the remains of Israeli prisoners who died in captivity.
Release of Palestinian Prisoners as a Result of Ceasefire Agreement

Release of Palestinian prisoners near Ofer prison.
Hours after the Palestinian Resistance released three Israeli female captives who were being held in the Gaza Strip, 90 Palestinian detainees were finally released from the Israeli Ofer prison. Buses carrying liberated Palestinian women and children headed to the nearby city of Beitunia where Palestinians gathered to welcome the released detainees, despite threats and brute force used by the occupation forces to outlaw celebrations.
An Al-Mayadeen correspondent reported that one Palestinian was shot and wounded by Israeli forces in Beitunia, as soon as the buses arrived at the city. The Palestinian Red Crescent also said that its teams are treating two individuals injured by Israeli gunfire in the city. Yet, Palestinians continued to gather late into the night welcoming the liberated detainees, Al-Mayadeen reported.
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported that delays occurred due to irregularities on the list of prisoners to be released that day provided by Israeli authorities that were spotted by members of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC). The Palestinian Prisoners' Media Office had also revealed that the list presented by Israeli authorities excluded one female prisoner, from the previously agreed upon list. However, the office pressured the occupation to resolve the issue whereupon the release of the prisoners commenced.
The Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network, Samidoun, provides detailed information on the 70 women and 20 youth released on the first day of the prisoner exchanges. The series of exchanges will see approximately 1,737 Palestinians liberated in the first stage of the Flood of the Free (Toufan al-Ahrar) by the Palestinian Resistance. The second stage of prisoner exchanges seeks to liberate the leaders of the Resistance, including Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Sa'adat, Abdullah Barghouti, Ibrahim Hamed, Abbas al-Sayyed and Hassan Salameh, that the occupation has thus far refused to release.
Samidoun points out that the Palestinian prisoners liberated in the first day of the prisoner exchange included multiple liberated prisoners who had earlier been released by the resistance in the first prisoner exchange of Al-Aqsa Flood, in November 2023, only to be targeted for re-abduction by the occupation.
They include Wala'a Tanja, Ahmed al-Khashan, Haneen al-Masaed, Rawda Abu Ajamiyeh, and Samah Hijjawi, as well as several well-known, leading prisoners, such as Khalida Jarrar, the prominent Palestinian political leader, member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and human and women’s rights advocate; Abla Sa'adat, the wife of Ahmad Sa'adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and writer Zahra Khadraj of Qalqilya; journalists like Israa Lafi, Bushra al-Tawil, and Rula Hassanein; students like Jenin Amr, Raghad Amr, Shaima Rawajbeh, Tamara Abu Laban, Duha al-Wahsh, Amal Shujaia, Ola Jouda, Dunia Shtayyeh, Aseel Eid al-Yassini, Baraa Fuqaha, Shatha Jarabaa, Dania Hanatsheh, Raghad Mubarak, sisters Shaima and Alaa Ramadan, and Al-Yamama Hreinat; educators like Hadeel Shatara and Fatima al-Rimawi; and three members of the Al-Arouri family, targeted and imprisoned because of their relation to the assassinated Hamas leader, Salah al-Arouri: Dalal al-Arouri, Fatima al-Arouri, and Fatima's daughter, Alaa Saqr.
Samidoun writes:
"Duha al-Wahsh and Wala'a Tanja, learned that their brothers had been martyred during their imprisonment, a reality that had been kept from both of them due to the blockade on news and information imposed upon the prisoners. Duha, a medical student, learned that her brother Ahmad, a doctor, had been martyred following her arrest, only upon the moment of her liberation; so, too, did Wala'a Tanja, whose joy at liberation was met with the news that her beloved brother Ayman had been martyred during her imprisonment.
"Ahmad al-Khashan, from Bir al-Basha, south of Jenin, was abducted by the occupation on 25 January 2024, the same day his brother, Wissam, also a liberated prisoner, was martyred by the occupation's bullets, and his brother Mohammed injured in the leg. He had previously been liberated in the November 2023 exchange.
"Several of the women prisoners required immediate health care, and the clear signs of medical neglect and abuse stood in sharp contrast to the health of the three Zionist captives who had been released by the Resistance earlier in the day, despite their circumstances under a genocidal bombing and siege in Gaza. Khalida Jarrar emerged from prison with the signs of her mistreatment -– including five months and one week held in solitary confinement with only a small slit with which to breathe the air -– evident on her face and body, while Margaret al-Rai emerged from the bus with a broken hand, injured by the assault of occupation prison guards. Many of the prisoners had lost tens of pounds during their imprisonment due to the occupation's starvation policy directed against the prisoners.
"Dunia Shtayyeh, the 20-year-old student at the Faculty of Sharia at An-Najah University, was awaited by her grandmother, the famous Hajja Mahfouz Shtayyeh, who became an iconic symbol of Palestinian connection to the land as she hugged her olive trees as they were cut and burned by settlers.
"In fact, the women prisoners were subjected to abuse on the day of their release, as related by Jerusalemite liberated prisoner Latifa Mashasha in interviews; after being transferred from Damon to Ofer prison, the women were dragged by their hair, thrown on the ground while dogs barked at them. Several women were beaten shortly before they were finally delivered to the International Committee of the Red Crescent for the exchange.
"Meanwhile, occupation forces were imposing terror upon the homes of the Jerusalemite prisoners, repeatedly invading their family homes, summoning family members to the notorious Moskobiyeh interrogation centre, and warning of any kind of celebration of the release of their beloved prisoners.
"In Beitunia, occupation forces attempted to dispel the growing crowds awaiting the liberated prisoners, injuring six as they fired upon them, and forcing the prisoners' families to wait long into the early morning hours.
"However, none of these efforts quelled the celebration of the Palestinian people, who joyously welcomed the liberated prisoners, waving the flags of the Resistance and Palestinian flags and chanting for the victorious Resistance in Gaza, Al-Qassam Brigades, Saraya Al-Quds, and the prisoners' liberation.
"Unanimously, the prisoners expressed their love and solidarity for the people of Gaza. 'Our feelings go to our people in Gaza. Our concern in prison, despite the torture and abuse, is for the war on Gaza to stop. Our message and thanks to them. We will never forget what they have done for us until the Day of Judgment,' said liberated medical student Bara'a Fuqaha."
Samidoun concludes: "Once again, as throughout the history of prisoner exchanges, it has been made clear that it is the Resistance that brings liberation, to the prisoners, the land and the people of Palestine, a Resistance that stretches from the heart of Gaza, throughout Palestine, to Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, and to the people of the world.
"We urge everyone, around the world, to join with the Palestinian people in Gaza and everywhere, to celebrate the achievements of the Resistance and the humiliation of the occupier, and to celebrate and welcome each liberated prisoner as the heroes of our global movement that they are, in public events, with posters and public education, with actions and events exposing Zionism and imperialism everywhere."
(Al Mayadeen English, Samidoun)
Canadian Youth Demand Accountability
Chrystia Freeland's Support for U.S./Zionist Genocide in Gaza Denounced at Campaign Launch
Toronto youth organized a "rolling protest" at the official launch of Chrystia Freeland's bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Freeland's campaign launch was held on January 19 at the St. Alban's Boys and Girls Club in her University-Rosedale riding. Since the beginning of the genocide against the Palestinian people, concerned constituents who support the struggle of the Palestinian people for an end to the occupation and for an end to Canada's despicable role in it, have been trying to meet with Freeland, without success. One after another, the youth denounced Freeland's active support, as MP, as Deputy Leader and as Finance Minister for the brutal U.S./Zionist genocide.
One youth holding a Palestinian flag denounced Freeland for her responsibility as Finance Minister for Canada's funding of the Zionist state and supplying arms to Israel. Others chanted Free, Free Palestine! Another youth shouted Freeland, Freeland you can't hide, you're complicit in genocide. While Freeland was speaking two youth unfurled a banner right behind her which read: "Freeland: Our Deputy PM -- Gravedigger."
It was not lost on anyone that Freeland began her speech by lauding the excellent work that the staff at the St. Alban's Boys and Girls Club were doing to support the children with after-school programs, having not once, in 15 months of bombing, starvation and targetting of civilians in Gaza, uttered a single word against the mass killing of thousands of Palestinian children and their families by the U.S./Zionist military occupiers.
Freeland, in words dripping with liberal hypocrisy, responded to the disruption by saying that in Canada everyone has the right to dissent and protest, because "this is Canada" and this is "our democracy" but, the bottom line, they must respect her right to speak. This from an MP who has refused to meet with her constituents to hear their concerns while presenting herself as the champion of "our democracy" that has funded and aided a genocide for 15 months. This is after she herself, student of history and expert on Ukraine, joined in a standing ovation in Parliament in September 22, 2023, for a Ukrainian Nazi-collaborator, Yaroslav Hunka, member of the Waffen SS during the Second World War.
The "right to dissent" of the protesters was quickly put to the test when thirteen police cars appeared as soon as the youth started their protest. In their statement, the protesters said that they took their action to hold Freeland to account for supporting the genocide against the Palestinian people and her refusal to meet with constituents on this critical issue.
(With files from CPAC. Photo: PYM)
Important Discussion
How Will the Gaza War Redefine Global Resistance?
The following article was written by Ramzy Baroud, a journalist and editor of the Palestine Chronicle in which the article appeared on January 13, 2025.
If a Ceasefire Agreement is finally accepted by both the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza and the Israeli government, it could mark the beginning of the end of an Israeli genocide unprecedented in history.
Estimates vary regarding how many Palestinians have been killed, or will eventually die, due to Israel's genocidal war that began on October 7, 2023. Despite these discrepancies, it is clear that a significant portion of Gaza's original population of 2.3 million has perished in the war.
The post-war discussion will likely focus on this: the criminality of Israel's actions, which could lead to the delegitimization of Israel as a pariah state that disregards basic human rights and international law.
However, another urgent discussion -- one that many are likely to avoid -- concerns the question of resistance.
Since the war began, three perspectives on Palestinian resistance have emerged.
The most dominant perspective avoids the issue of resistance altogether, focusing instead on the death toll and the unimaginable destruction in Gaza. While this view exposes Israel's atrocities in the besieged Strip, it will likely continue to avoid addressing fundamental questions: Why is Israel being forced to leave Gaza after 15 months of fighting? What forces made victory in one of the most populated, impoverished, and isolated places on earth so impossible for Israel?
The second perspective blames Palestinians for Israel's actions. This view is championed by certain Arab media channels -- as well as many in Western media -- and often by the Palestinian Authority (PA) itself, along with its shrinking circle of global supporters, some of whom are purportedly members of the pro-Palestine movement.
The logic behind their conclusion is that, since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation was essentially a Palestinian choice, the Resistance is somehow held responsible for Israel's genocide. The PA has used this logic as a scare tactic against Palestinians in the West Bank, repeating it during its current brutal onslaught on the Jenin refugee camp. In other words, the PA is justifying its killing of Palestinians by claiming it is doing so to prevent more deaths at the hands of Israel.
The third perspective glorifies the role of resistance, though at times without fully understanding the nature of Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
It is clear that without resistance, Israel would have conquered Gaza within days and would have built several illegal Jewish settlements throughout the Strip by now. So, the latter perspective is the most accurate, but a better understanding of what constitutes resistance is still required.
The ongoing resistance in Gaza includes not only armed struggle but also the legendary steadfastness (sumoud) of the Palestinian people. A major error often made is seeing resistance as singular, and separating cultural, popular, and armed resistance. This reductionist approach divides resistance into violent and non-violent categories, which weakens the Palestinian discourse and diminishes the collective understanding of the situation in Gaza.
In Gaza, all forms of resistance are intrinsically linked. Spiritual resistance, tied to faith, serves as the backbone of the Palestinian community, including Gaza's Christian minorities, who, like the Muslim majority, have suffered immense losses. This bond is expressed in numerous ways: the language people speak, the songs they sing, the art they create -- even during times of war and famine.
While Israel used all its destruction capabilities, which seemed endless thanks largely to continued support from the U.S., Germany, and the UK -- among others -- Palestinians countered with faith, patience, prayers, community, and ingenuity, surviving against the greatest odds. Though Israel destroyed Gaza, it turned the surviving inhabitants into one united family.
That is the pinnacle of Palestinian resistance.
That resistance has expressed itself in many ways, including armed resistance, which has fueled Palestinian fighting fronts with youth willing to die to protect their communities. These communities, displaced throughout Gaza, have become the epicenter of the resistance movement.
Many will continue to avoid this discussion on the true nature of Palestinian resistance, fearing repercussions and accusations from Israel and its Western allies. However, avoiding this conversation only prevents the most crucial and consequential discussion that will shape the Palestinian collective psyche for generations to come. It will likely be embedded in their long history forever.
For Palestinians, whether or not this discussion is engaged with by others is of little consequence. They have already internalized the centrality of resistance and will use it to free themselves from an enemy that respects no laws, adheres to no rules, and only understands the language of war. Palestinians, through their unique type of resistance, have proven unbeatable and possess the experience to teach the world.
Cusp of West Bank Annexation and
Settler-Militia War
Mourners
take part in funeral, December 26, 2024, of Palestinians killed
during Israeli raids in northern occupied West Bank town of Tulkarm.
The following article by Robert Inkalesh, titled "The Future of the West Bank Hangs in the Balance," was published by Al-Mayadeen on December 25.
Despite concentrated efforts to eliminate resistance strongholds, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement, and escalation of violence, will the West Bank witness a Third Intifada?
On the cusp of West Bank annexation and a settler-militia war on Palestinian civilians, the future of the territory will ultimately be determined by the course of grassroots resistance to Israeli conspiracies. While the Zionist Entity will likely soon see a territorial gain, its project could tremendously backfire.
As the Genocide in Gaza, the war on Lebanon, and regime change in Syria have stolen the headlines over the course of the past 14 months, the West Bank has also experienced a period of hardship that may soon land it top news story status.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army and its allied settler militants have murdered over 720 Palestinians across the West Bank, making it the deadliest period there since the Second Intifada (2000-2005). In addition, hundreds of thousands of jobs have disappeared in the territory, as the local economy has continued to decline.
Making things even worse is the fact that Israeli settlers have established over 60 new settlement outposts on Palestinian lands, while they also worked alongside the occupation army to ethnically cleanse at least 26 villages and communities. Settler violence is at a historic high, as the Israeli regime continues to arm their extremist militias, has set up the Desert Frontier settler extremist military unit as part of their army, and allowed for continual assaults against Palestinian property, farmlands, and lives.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has installed hundreds of new roadblocks, walls, and gates, while maintaining a more imposing presence throughout the territory and adopting a very aggressive posture towards West Bank civilians. This has meant that traversing even small pockets of the territory has become more dangerous and challenging for Palestinians.
Palestinians now must act with great caution at checkpoints and makeshift roadblocks that are set up for them, where they could be randomly robbed of various items, deprived of the ability to travel to work, or worse, face arbitrary detainment, humiliation, beatings, and execution. Civilians have grown increasingly cautious about traveling at night due to the high likelihood of random settler attacks, against which they receive no protection.
Palestinians living in the West Bank endure financial, physical, and psychological torment, compounded by a heightened sense of horror over the events unfolding nearby in the Gaza Strip.
Many West Bank residents have remained relatively quiet during the Genocide in Gaza, driven by a sense of hopelessness and fear -– a situation influenced by various factors that are poised to change dramatically.
So far, the refugee camps in the northern West Bank have proven to be the real centres of resistance and revolutionary action. The Jenin Camp, Nour al-Shams Camp in Tulkarem, and refugee camps like Balata and al-Ain in Nablus, have been isolated islands of armed resistance. However, without popular action, their capabilities remain confined to defensive manoeuvres within their camps.
Thousands of Palestinians take part in the funeral procession
December 25, 2024, of Palestinian teenager Rayan Bani Odeh, killed in
an Israeli airstrike on the town of Tammoun in the
occupied West Bank.
With U.S. support, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is intensifying its crackdown on the Jenin Brigades resistance groups, signalling a concerted effort to eliminate resistance strongholds in the West Bank. This crackdown coincides with a critical moment for the PA, as it faces an existential threat from "Israel's" looming pledge to annex the territory.
The Zionist regime seeks to conquer areas C and parts of area B, inside the West Bank, aiming to establish de jure governing control over these regions, placing around 70 per cent of the territory under their civil control.
If this scenario unfolds, the Palestinian Authority will be confronted with three viable options: dissolve itself entirely, transform into a resistance movement, or attempt to strike some sort of deal that would keep it afloat as a mere contractor that manages the major Palestinian enclaves.
As the PA currently enjoys recognition at the United Nations as the representative of the State of Palestine and is poised to play a role in any post-war Gaza scenario, it still retains some relevance. Yet, without the ability to pave the way to a Palestinian State in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza through negotiations, it will face the inevitable challenge of pursuing armed resistance as its only option, which the PA has denounced for now.
Israeli annexation will inevitably destabilize the West Bank and the PA's President Mahmoud Abbas has already named a transitional-phase successor, indicating that his old age will soon prevent him from fulfilling his duties. If Hamas succeeds -– through a prisoner exchange -– at liberating senior figures of the Fatah movement, which rules the Ramallah-based PA, it is possible that they could play a constructive role in unifying the Palestinian movement from abroad and paving an alternative path forward.
Another factor could be the potential unrest that could occur within Jordan, along with the unpredictable emergence of Palestinian resistance groups from the volatile climate inside Syria.
However, the Israelis understand well all of these elements and will seek to prevent any regional developments from working in the favour of the Palestinian people. Therefore, these possibilities should be acknowledged, but the primary focus here must be placed upon the inevitable response of the West Bank's population at large.
With a severely weakened PA, escalation of violence, ethnic cleansing of villages, and inevitable mass displacement of civilians, amidst Israeli annexation, the people of the West Bank could be forced into a predicament that necessitates a Third Intifada. If the PA collapses altogether, this will force the Israeli army to deploy into the major Palestinian cities, which will lead to daily conflicts on a much larger scale than has been witnessed for decades.
A mass popular revolt from the West Bank will be needed to thwart Israeli plans at further land confiscation and ethnic cleansing, which will then plunge the entire territory into chaos. The main question is whether the Zionist Entity is capable of dealing with such a situation for a long period of time if a full-scale revolt occurs. Dealing with this scenario could require the deployment of army personnel, private security, border and police officers, totalling in the hundreds of thousands.
Not only would this be a massive financial burden, but would also pose a potential security risk in the event that other fronts again activate in the future. As an example, at various points in the war against Gaza, the Israeli military had actually deployed more soldiers to the West Bank than it had been operating in the Gaza Strip.
The Zionist regime has never declared its borders for a reason, as it has always sought to further occupy territory at the expense of neighbouring nations, a goal it is currently achieving at a rapid pace. While it is succeeding in the short term, the ultimate fate of this usurper project will be determined by the will of the masses.
How Long Will Palestinian Authority Be
Allowed to Serve as Enforcers
of Israeli
Occupation in West Bank?

Protest in support of the Resistance and against Israeli attacks in Jenin camp in the West Bank, December 14, 2024
The following article by Ramzy Baroud, "The West Bank's Men of the CIA – Why is the PA Killing Palestinians in Jenin?", was published in the Palestine Chronicle, December 25, 2024.
Following a ten-day siege, the Palestinian Authority [PA] began, on December 14, a violent raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
The PA security forces used similar tactics as used by the Israeli occupation forces in their routine attacks on the area.
The camp, which is a mere half a square kilometre in size, hosts an ever-growing population of 24,000 refugees, mostly the descendants of Palestinians ethnically cleansed by Zionist militias during the great catastrophe, or Nakba, of 1948.
The raid began with a tight siege, followed by an attack from multiple directions that resulted in the killing of an unarmed youth, Rebhi al-Shalabi, 19, then a 13-year-old child, Muhammad al-Amer.
The PA forces also killed Yazid Ja'ayseh, the commander of the Jenin Brigades, who had evaded Israeli assassination attempts for his leadership role in unifying all Palestinian Resistance fighters under the umbrella of a single group.
Expectedly, Israel is largely pleased with the PA's action against the Palestinian Resistance, though it expects more. "The Palestinian Authority has been acting resolutely against the Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters over the past several weeks, army and Shin Bet sources said, but the Israeli officials expressed the hope that their effectiveness could be enhanced," Haaretz reported.
Indeed, Israel had attempted to subdue Jenin 80 times in the last year alone, killing more than 220 people, Al Jazeera reported, citing Palestinian Ministry of Health sources.
By attacking Jenin, the PA is helping the Israeli army in more than one way: it is killing and detaining anti-Israeli occupation Resistance fighters, consuming the energy and resources of the Resistance, allowing Israel to spare thousands of soldiers so that they may carry on with the genocide in Gaza, and more.
For many, especially supporters of Palestine around the world, the PA's action is confusing, to say the least. Those surprised by the anti-Resistance policies of Mahmoud Abbas and his Authority, however, are driven by the erroneous assumption that the PA is a legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and that it behaves in ways consistent with the collective aspirations of all Palestinians.
Nothing could be further from the truth. For many years, the PA has ceased playing any role that deviates from the interests of a small clique of pro-U.S. and pro-Israeli wealthy elite who have enriched themselves, while millions of Palestinians continue to suffer an Israeli genocide in Gaza, and a violent system of apartheid and military occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The most telling and recent example is that, a short distance away from Jenin, illegal and violent Israeli Jewish settlers have burned the Bir Al-Walidin Mosque in the town of Murda, near Salfit -– less than 70 kilometres from Jenin. Neither in this case, nor in any of the hundreds of settlers' pogroms carried out against Palestinians in the West Bank in the last year -– or before -– did the PA security carry out any action to confront the armed Jewish militias, nor, of course, the occupation army.
But how did the PA turn from a supposed national project -– at least in theory -– to another branch of the Israeli occupation?
It could be argued that the PA was structured since its establishment in 1994 as a body whose existence catered to benefit the Israeli occupation. There is much evidence that substantiates this claim, including the arrests, torture and killing of dissenting Palestinians soon after the creation of the PA.
The CIA became directly involved in supporting the PA from the very start, expanding its role as early as 1996 following a series of Palestinian retaliatory attacks on Israeli targets in major cities. It was then that CIA director George Tenet became an important player in shaping the policies of the PA security forces, preparing it for massive crackdowns on Palestinian Resistance groups.
This involvement was a direct condition for U.S. financial support under the Bill Clinton Administration -– the kind of support that sowed the seeds of the Fatah-Hamas conflict, which reached its zenith in the summer of 2007.
The involvement of the U.S. -– and other armed forces of U.S. client regimes in the region -– became even more apparent under the leadership of U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, who helped train, prepare and equip the Palestinian Authority Security Forces (NSF), producing several battalions of young recruits (between 20 and 22 years old) to fight fellow Palestinians in the name of restoring law and order.
That supposed restoration of the law began in earnest as early as 2005 and continues until this day. Interestingly, this is the same language that the PA is currently using to justify its war on the Jenin refugee camp.
A spokesman for the PA security forces, Anwar Rajab recently told Al Jazeera that the objective of the raid on Jenin is to "pursue criminals" and lawbreakers, and to "prevent the camp from becoming a battleground like Gaza."
Equating Resistance fighters with criminals and linking that supposed criminality to the Gaza Resistance is the typical PA discourse on resistance, a discourse that took the U.S. and Israel years to craft and perfect -– making the PA arguably the greatest achievement of Israel and the U.S. in recent decades.
This behaviour and language can be traced to a famous statement by General Dayton himself, who in a 2009 speech celebrated the U.S.'s greatest creation in Palestine:
"And what we have created –- and I say this in humility -– what we have created are new men upon the return of these new men of Palestine, they have shown motivation, discipline and professionalism, and they have made such a difference."
Indeed, the "new men of Palestine" are making all the difference required by the U.S. and Israel: they are fighting the very Palestinian Resistance that is defending Jenin against the Israeli onslaught, Nablus against the pogroms of armed settlers and Gaza against genocide.
None of these "new men" -– whose numbers are counted in the tens of thousands – have lifted a finger to help their brethren as they continue to starve to death in the Gaza Strip, tortured and raped en masse, burned alive in Jabaliya and Khan Yunis, and yet continue to fight and die in their thousands -– alone.
To say that the PA has betrayed Palestinians, however, is an inaccurate statement. The PA was never set up, financed and armed by the U.S. and Israel as a force of liberation, but as an obstacle to Palestinian freedom. We are witnessing the final proof of this claim. It is taking place in Jenin now; in fact, throughout the West Bank.
Of course, the PA will not be able to crush the Palestinian Resistance, which the supposedly mighty Israeli army has failed to subdue over the course of years. But the question remains: how long will the PA be allowed to serve the role of the enforcers of the Israeli occupation and the protector of settlers, while still promoting itself as the guardian of Palestinian rights, freedom and statehood?
Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of the Palestine Chronicle. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.
(To access articles individually click on the black headline.)
Website: www.cpcml.ca • Email: editor@cpcml.ca