Tel Aviv Tribune English website said that the fighters of the Nour Shams refugee camp in the city of Tulkarm in the north of the country are part of a broader phenomenon represented by the return of armed Palestinian resistance, which began in the Jenin refugee camp more than two years ago before spreading to Nablus, Jericho, Tulkarm and other places.
The site explained – in a report written by Zeina Al-Tahhan – that tea, coffee, and assault rifles are placed on the table outside the front door of Maysa’s house in the Nour Shams refugee camp, where a small group of young Palestinian fighters are gathering in the alley under rows of cloth awnings.
Maysaa (40 years old) says, “These are our children, our souls. All they want is a decent life. People all over the world, in all countries, claim to be democrats, and want to live freely. What about our youth? They have no other choice but the path of resistance.” “There is no more land left. The occupation has taken over everything.”
Defense during raids
In this context, the author says that the matter began with the emergence of armed groups composed of young people between the ages of 17 and 35 years, and despite their limited capabilities, these groups focused on defense during Israeli military raids on camps and attacking Israeli military checkpoints and illegal settlements.
Ziad, one of the senior leaders of the Tulkarm Brigades – the names are not real to protect their identities – says, “We have the right to defend ourselves,” and adds that the ongoing Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip only leads to “encouraging more men to join the resistance.” “.
Intensification of raids
Over the past two years, Israel has sharply intensified its deadly raids on the northern occupied West Bank, killing dozens of fighters in marching attacks and targeted assassinations, seriously hampering the continuation of resistance factions, but they still persist in Tulkarm, particularly in Nour Shams camp, one of two camps. In the city, it houses more than 34 thousand Palestinians.
Despite deadly raids over the past two months, which witnessed dozens of civilian and combatant casualties, Israeli forces were unable to enter Nur Shams on foot, as they were impeded by obstacles and a large number of explosive devices.
Journalist Sami Al-Saei, a resident of Tulkarm, says, “The occupation army thinks a thousand times before entering Nur Shams. They do not enter it on foot. They bring bulldozers because the amount of explosive devices in Nur Shams is unprecedented.”
Because the army was unable to enter Nur Shams on foot, and has not made attempts for several weeks, the fighters believe that a raid is imminent. “We expect them to arrive at any moment. They may come while we are sitting here talking, but the fighters are ready,” Ziad says.
The only solution
Ziad and his companions believe that the past three decades of intense Israeli military occupation and illegal settlements, as well as fruitless negotiations, mean that “armed resistance is the only solution.” He says, “What was taken by force can only be recovered by force.” He adds, “There is no benefit in participating in Negotiations.”
Popular support for the armed resistance has increased throughout the occupied West Bank over the past two years – as the site says – and many of the dead appeared as symbols of resistance, and thousands attended their funeral processions. Laith says, “Despite the lack of capabilities, there is armed resistance in the West Bank that is harmful to the occupation. If we are killed, 10 others will appear.”
Pressure from Israel and the Palestinian Authority
Two armed resistance groups were formed in Tulkarm in less than a year – as the author says – as for the gathering in Nour Shams, it came after the killing of Saif Abu Lebda (25 years old) at the hands of the Israeli army in Jenin on April 2, 2022, when he was paving the way. To form an armed resistance group in the camp, he learns from fighters in Jenin.
The website indicated that one of the main factors that contributed to the formation of armed resistance groups over the past two years was the meeting of fighters from across the Palestinian political spectrum despite the long-term internal conflict at the leadership level of their parties, including the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. (Fatah), the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, the Popular Front, the Palestine Liberation Front, and others.
However, the ability of these groups to unite young fighters belonging to traditional armed groups made them a target of both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority run by the Fatah movement, which sometimes practiced violence during the funerals of dead fighters, and also suppressed popular protests in the occupied West Bank on 17 Last October against the Israeli bombing of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.
