The Jenin Battalion… was established to defend escaped prisoners and became the shield of the Jenin camp Encyclopedia

The Jenin Battalion is a military battalion affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement. It came into existence in 2021 following the martyrdom of its founder, Jamil Al-Amouri, on June 10. At that time, it became active in defending the city of Jenin against any intrusion by the occupation forces. Then its activities spread to include other cities.

Origin and establishment

The name “Jenin Brigade” appeared for the first time in September 2021, in the Jenin camp in the northern occupied West Bank, following the events of the Freedom Tunnel, in order to defend the six prisoners who were able to extract their freedom from the Israeli Gilboa prison, by confusing the checkpoints that It was established by the occupation army to repatriate the liberated prisoners, as well as to try to secure places to house these prisoners in the Jenin camp.

The “Jenin Battalion” coined its name from the same name given by the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziad al-Nakhalah, to the prisoners who freed themselves from “Gilboa” prison.

As for the actual presence of the Jenin Battalion, it was formed following the martyrdom of Jamil Al-Amouri, the son of Jenin camp, on June 10, 2021, who is considered the first founder of this battalion, and it was present during any invasion of the city by the occupation forces, by clashing with him and working to repel him and protect the camp.

The battalion was then active during the “Sword of Jerusalem” battle launched by the occupation army against Gaza in May 2021, and established a joint operations room with the armed Palestinian factions in the Jenin camp, in order to confront any possible incursion into the camp.

The number of members of the battalion, according to estimates by the occupation army, is about 300, and they have 5,000 weapons. The occupation forces assassinated many of its leaders in order to weaken its structure.

Thought and “ideology”

The Jenin Battalion is militarily and intellectually affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine. The basic practical philosophy of the Islamic Jihad movement is based on the continuity of work and the continuous preoccupation of the occupation forces through their permanent movement, in the path of a Palestinian endeavor to break the power equations that allow the occupation to impose its conditions on the Palestinian reality.

Flags and symbols

The martyr Jamil Al-Amouri, who was assassinated by Israel on June 10, 2021, is considered the founder and mastermind of the Jenin Brigade, which was closely linked to his name. He was the title “renewer of engagement” and the proverb “Do not shoot your bullets in the air.”

Among the prominent names in the Jenin Brigade are the martyr Naeem Jamal Al-Zubaidi, who was martyred at the age of 27, and the martyr Muhammad Ayman Al-Saadi, who was martyred at the age of 26. They were martyred after being shot by the occupation army, during its storming of the Jenin camp on December 1, 2022.

There are 5 members of the battalion who were martyred by occupation bullets during the storming of Jenin camp on July 5, 2023. They are: Ahmed Muhammad Al-Amer (21 years old), Samih Firas Abu Al-Wafa (20 years old), Majdi Younis Ararawi (17 years old), Aws Hani Hanoun (19 years old), and Ali Hani Al-Ghoul (17 years old).

There are a number of battalion cadres detained in Palestinian Authority prisons. Among them: Murad Malaisha, Muhammad Barahma, Eid Hamamra, Muhammad Salim Alawneh, Muhammad Fayez Malaisha, Moamen Fashafsheh, Imad Muhammad Khaliliyah, and Khaled Arrawi, all of whom are from the town of Jaba in Jenin, with the exception of Muhammad Barahma, who is from the village of “Anza,” and Jamil Jaar from Tulkarm. And Salama Abdel Jawad from Nablus.

In addition to dozens of members of the battalion, who became martyrs or were arrested by the Zionist occupation authorities, or were entrusted to do so by the security services of the Palestinian Authority.

Most prominent stations

The birth of the “Jenin Battalion” was influenced by the events of the Saif al-Quds Battle in Gaza in 2021, in response to the aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque, and as a direct result of the “Freedom Tunnel” operation in the Zionist Gilboa Prison.

This birth stimulated the emergence of several armed groups in the Jenin camp from different factions, and this phenomenon extended to the cities and camps of the West Bank, announcing the birth of multiple groups. Such as: the Tubas, Nablus, and Tulkarm Brigades, and the emergence of the “Lions’ Den” group in Nablus, which includes fighters from multiple Palestinian factional backgrounds.

The battalion supported other resistance factions. When the “Lions’ Den” group in Nablus was exposed to an existential threat, the leaders of the “Jenin Battalion” used whatever capabilities they had to prevent the collapse of their comrades in blood and weapons.

Sources reported that the martyr Farouk Salama, the commander of the battalion, who was assassinated by occupation special forces days before his wedding, opened direct lines with the leaders of Al-Areen to provide them with logistical and human support.

The battalion’s activity is no longer limited to the Jenin camp, as the scope of the clash has expanded to include some areas of the Jenin countryside, and the battalion issued several military reports about shooting operations carried out by groups affiliated with it in the towns of Jaba and Qabatiya. Then the geographic area extended to Wadi Burqin, Silat al-Harithiya, Rummana, Ya`bad, Kafr Dan, and other towns in the governorate.

The battalion’s activities extended to specific operations in settlements and within the Green Line. Such as the operation of the martyr Raad Khazem in the heart of Tel Aviv in April 2022, in addition to the shooting operations that targeted settlements in the vicinity of Jenin.

It also announced the formation of the “Martyr Bahaa Abu Atta” groups, and the beginning of its activity was targeting the “Harmish” settlement, near Tulkarm, in December 2022.

In the Battle of Bas Jenin in July 2023, it confronted the occupation forces that stormed the camp, inflicting heavy losses on it, according to a statement issued by the battalion.