Terror Organizations Consolidating Their Control Over Tulkarm, Tubas In Northern West Bank, Undermining Control Of Palestinian Authority

The Tulkarm and Tubas governorates in the northern West Bank have lately become hotspots of terrorist activity against Israel, a situation that undermines the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in those areas, as has already happened in the governorates of Jenin and Nablus. This process – in which militias comprising fighters from multiple Palestinian organizations, including Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, gain strength and engage in escalating terror against Israel while undermining the security control of the PA on the ground – began before the outbreak of the Gaza war. But since then it has steadily increased, and in the recent months Hamas and other organizations have even been threatening to carry out attacks in the West Bank similar to Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel.[1]

Incidents in which these militias fired at nearby Israeli localities and tried to infiltrate them occurred before the Gaza war, but the recent months have seen an escalation in their terror activity and their defiance of the PA's security apparatuses. A conspicuous example is a series of clashes between the Tulkarm Brigade militia and the PA security forces, which included exchanges of gunfire, after several PIJ terrorists were killed during the PA's attempts to arrest them between March and May 2024. In several incidents, Tulkarm terrorists prevented the PA security forces from entering the refugee camps in the area and even seized one of their vehicles.  Similar clashes took place recently between the Tubas Brigade militia and the PA security forces.

The PA, for its part, is ambivalent in its treatment of these militias. On the one hand, it regards their growing power as a threat to its very existence and as an Iranian attempt to carry out a coup against it by means of its local proxies.[2] On the other hand, it continues to condemn Israel for combating the terror activity of these militias, presenting this as unwarranted aggression and as the murder of innocent Palestinian civilians.

Military parade in Tulkarm refugee camp: Youths and boys with weapons and PIJ headbands

This report reviews the activity of the Tulkarm and Tubas terror militias and the erosion of the PA's control over those governorates in the recent period.

The Tulkarm And Tubas Brigades – Groups Comprising Fighters From Various Factions Modeled On Nablus And Jenin Militias

The last two years have seen a significant surge in Palestinian terror activity in the West Bank. A conspicuous phenomenon has been the appearance of militias such as the Lion's Den in Nablus and the Jenin Brigade in Jenin, which include fighters from various Palestinian factions and thus embody military cooperation between these factions. Hamas and PIJ leaders have praised this model and recommended to expand it to all parts of the West bank, and have in fact announced that they are acting to achieve this.[3] The Tulkarm Brigade and the Tubas Brigade, which emerged in the last two years, are indeed based on this model, and now coordinate the operations against Israel in their respective governorates.

The Tulkarm Brigade comprises two separate militias, each based in one of the city's two refugee camps. The first, called "Tulkarm Brigade–Al-Quds Brigades," was founded in March 2022 and controls the Nour Al-Shams refugee camp in the city. This militia is affiliated exclusively with the PIJ, and its founder, Sayf Abu Libda, who was killed by Israel in April 2022, held ties with the Jenin Brigade. The second militia, called "Tulkarm Brigade–Rapid Response," is based in the city's other refugee camp, the Tulkarm camp, and was founded in 2023 in response to the killing of terrorists from the Lion's Den militia in Nablus. This militia includes fighters from several organizations: Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which does not obey the political leadership of Fatah and the PA, and whose fighters comprise the majority in this refugee camp; the Hamas military wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the PIJ military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades and the Jund Allah organization. The fighters from the various organizations operate both separately and jointly.[4] The fighters themselves have disclosed that some of their operations are carried out by a joint nuhba (elite force).[5]

Operatives of the Tulkarm Brigade affiliated with various organizations (T.me/TubasAl_Majd, July 7, 2024)

Moreover, despite the apparent division of the Tulkarm Brigade into two militias, in practice there is cooperation and coordination between them, as noted by the militia operatives and by the Palestinian and Arab media. An article on the Palestinian Metras website stated: "The two [Tulkarm refugee camps] support one another. When the Israeli army besieges one of the camps, the fighters from the other come out to defend it and engage the enemy."[6] An article in the Al-Arabi Al-Jadid daily quoted an operative of the Tulkarm Brigade–Rapid Response militia, based in the Tulkarm refugee camp, as saying: "We all fight in a single trench, all the factions [together] in fraternity and unity, and in coordination with the brigades in the Nour Al-Shams [refugee] camp."[7] Further proof of the coordination between the two parts of the Tulkarm Brigade came in May 2024: After the PA security forces killed an operative of the Tulkarm Brigade–Al-Quds Brigades, a joint statement was issued by "the brigade in the Nour Al-Shams refugee camp and the brigade in the Tulkarm refugee camp and all their military organizations," which called for an uprising against the PA.[8]  The cooperation is also evident on Telegram: Each of the various terror organizations in Tulkarm has its own Telegram channel, but all of the channels identify as affiliated with the Tulkarm Brigade. For example, one channel is called "The Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigade–Tulkarm Brigade."[9]

Since its inception the Tulkarm Brigade has incorporated more and more operatives and grown steadily larger. Its fighters build explosive charges which they plant at the entrances to the refugee camps to repel both the IDF and the PA security forces. In the Nour Al-Shams camp the fighters are divided into several units: the observation and monitoring unit; the engineering unit, in charge of building explosive charges; and the commando unit whose gunmen clash with the IDF. The Tulkarm Brigades operatives proclaim that their objective is the liberation of Palestine and that the Al-Aqsa Flood war (the current war in Gaza) created a shift in their thinking: it "gave more meaning to their resistance, so that Israel [is now perceived] as an illusion that can be defeated and the Israeli army is perceived as cowardly."[10]

Tulkarm Brigade operatives in the Nour Al-Shams refugee camp (T.me/TubasAl_Majd, July 6, 2024)

Tulkarm Brigade holds Eid Al-Adha activities for the children of the Tulkarm refugee camp

In July 2022 the PIJ's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, formed a new militia  in the Tubas governorate as well, called the Tubas Brigade,[11] which was later joined by fighters from other organizations, especially from Hamas' Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades.[12] According to a June 5, 2024 article in Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, the Tubas Brigade operates primarily in the Al-Fara'a refugee camp and is closely coordinated with the "resistance brigades" in other governorates of the northern West Bank, such as Jenin and Tulkarm. The article also noted that, since October 7, 2023, there has been an increase in terrorism coming out of this camp.[13]

Operatives of the Tubas Brigades (Facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555756657734, April 11, 2024)

The establishment of the Tubas Brigade – another step in the militias' consolidation of their power in the northern West Bank (Alkhanadeq.org.lb, July 20, 2022)

Weapons and military gear of the Tubas Brigade seized by the PA security forces in June 2024 (T.me/A7rarTubas, June 4, 2024)

Graphic posted in 2022 to a Telegram channel affiliated with the Jenin Brigade stresses that, in accordance with the instructions of PIJ secretary-general Ziad Al-Nakhaleh, the PIJ's military wing established brigades in Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm and Tubas (T.me/jeninqassam, July 18, 2022)

Shooting Attacks, Attempts To Infiltrate Israeli Settlements, And Threats To Replicate October 7

Since its inception, the Tulkarm Brigade has been carrying out shooting attacks against nearby Israeli localities and threatening to infiltrate them the way Hamas infiltrated southern Israel on October 7, 2023. For example, the Tulkarm Brigade–Rapid Response militia, which, as previously mentioned, was established around February 2023, began claiming shooting attacks as early as March 2023, including an attack on the Israeli village of Bat Hefer, near Tulkarm, at "very close range".[14]

Telegram channels affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and with various local militias belonging to the Tulkarm Brigade continued to publish similar posts until the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, although it is difficult to ascertain how many of the claimed attacks actually took place and how many of them were fabrications meant to sow fear. In order to appear more credible, many of these messages specified the time of the purported attacks and even contained alleged video footage of them, usually very blurry.[15]

After October 7 and the outbreak of the war, Telegram channels affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and the Tulkarm Brigade–Rapid Response militia continued to publish statements claiming attacks. For instance, on October 7 itself, the Tulkarm Brigade–Rapid Response militia announced that operatives from the PIJ  and from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades had carried out a joint attack on Bat Hefer "as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood."[16] On October 9, the militia called on Fatah Chairman and PA President Mahmoud Abbas to publish "a clear decision" regarding joining the war, and demanded that members of the PA security forces "strike every Israeli settler and soldier."[17] On October 13, 2023 the militia claimed that its operatives had reached a position "very close" to Bat Hefer and opened fire on the village,[18] and on March 1, 2024, it claimed further shooting attacks on Bat Hefer, on the nearby settlement of Avnei Hefetz and on an IDF checkpoint.[19] On June 4, 2024 a Tulkarm Telegram channel claimed that two operatives of the group called "the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Youth of Revenge and of Liberation–Tulkarm" had carried out a "shooting attack on the Nitzanei Oz checkpoint, west of Tulkarm."[20]

The Jerusalem Brigades–Tulkarm Brigade Telegram channel reports that the militia ambushed IDF forces near the Israeli village of Bat Hefer (T.me/SrayaTolkrm, June 24, 2024)

On May 27, 2024, a Telegram channel called "Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades–Tulkarm Brigade," representing the Hamas faction within the Tulkarm Brigade, shared a video showing Hamas operatives from Tulkarm shooting toward Bat Hefer while wearing the signature green headbands of Hamas's military wing. Two days later, the channel shared footage of an additional attack carried out by the group.[21]

Operatives from Hamas's Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades–Tulkarm Brigade (Image: T.me/qassamtulkarem, March 8, 2024)

Screenshots from the videos published in May 2024 by the Telegram channel of Hamas' Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades–Tulkarm Brigade. Armed operatives wearing Hamas headbands can be seen firing rifles towards the Israeli village of Bat Hefer, near Tulkarm (Image: T.me/Qassamtulkarem, May 27 and May 29, 2024)

As mentioned, various Telegram channels affiliated with the Tulkarm Brigade have also shared posts threatening to infiltrate Israeli settlements. For example, the Telegram channel "Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Youth of Revenge and of Liberation–Tulkarm" claimed on May 30, 2024 that, on the previous day, a squad of elite militants had infiltrated Bat Hefer with the goal of assassinating a "Shin Bet officer" living there. According to the post, the assassination was not ultimately carried out, but the militants "withdrew safely" after taking a rifle and a pistol from the man's home while he was there with his children. In a separate post, the group threatened: "This is a warning for the enemy: If you carry out operations in Tulkarm as your leaders have announced, then we will replicate the scene of October 7 in Bat Hefer, Avnei Hefetz, and in other settlements. Then we will see who will besiege whom."[22]

The Tubas Brigade militia carries out similar shooting attacks, which are reported on its affiliated Telegram channels. On December 14, 2022, for example, the group's operatives opened fire on Israeli vehicles near the Palestinian village of Tamun near Nablus.[23] On April 5, 2023 they attacked an IDF checkpoint[24] and on May 6, 2024 they ambushed Israeli forces.[25]

Militias In Tulkarm And Tubas Challenge The Authority Of The PA And Its Apparatuses

In addition to perpetrating and threatening terror against Israel, the militias in Tulkarm and Tubas openly challenge the authority of the PA, incite against it, undermine its authority and control on the ground, and oppose its security forces, even preventing them from entering the refugee camps, which have become enclaves under their control. The PA, for its part, attempts to forcibly maintain its security control on the ground by taking action against the militias – while at the same time condemning Israel's operations against them – yet its status nonetheless appears to be waning. Over the past few months, there has been an increase in the tensions and conflict between the Tulkarm and Tubas militias and the PA, after several militia operatives were shot dead while PA security forces were attempting to arrest them.

Below are several prominent examples of such incidents in Tulkarm and Tubas:

Tulkarm Brigades Incite Agaist PA Security Forces: They Are Traitors, Collaborate With The Enemy

Tensions between the PA and the Tulkarm Brigade's militias began in the months immediately following the militias' appearance. For instance, in August 2023, after a member of the Tulkarm Brigades–Rapid Reaction militia was killed in a firefight with PA security forces, the local Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade group (which is part of the Tulkarm Brigade) published harsh statements accusing the PA of treason. The group also barred PA security forces from the Tulkarm refugee camp and threatened to open fire on them if they entered it, just as it fires on Israeli forces entering the camps.[26]

These tensions reached new heights in late March and early April of 2024, when several clashes erupted between the PIJ's Tulkarm Brigade–Jerusalem Companies militia and PA security forces after the latter injured the militias' commander while attempting to arrest him. The Tulkarm Brigade militias were furious over the incident and announced a "civil uprising" against the PA, which included completely blocking the entrances to the Tulkarm and Nour Al-Shams camps with dirt mounds and explosive charges.[27] In addition, Tulkarm Brigades operatives engaged in firefights with PA security forces, resulting in the death of one Brigades operative.[28] During the firefight, armed militants seized a vehicle from the PA forces, placed a PIJ flag on it, and drove it around the Nour Al-Shams refugee camp as an act of defiance against the PA.[29]

At the funeral of the militant who was killed in the clashes, a Tulkarm Brigade operative delivered a virulent speech against the PA while standing by the stolen vehicle. He said that the "martyred" militant had been killed by "treasonous" fire, vowed to take revenge against the PA for "every drop of blood," and promised that no force on earth could cause the "resistance" to return the vehicle to the PA.[30] It should be noted, however, that four days later, the PIJ's Tulkarm Brigade–Jerusalem Companies militia announced that it would return the vehicle in order to prevent civil war.[31]

Operatives from the PIJ's Tulkarm Brigades–Jerusalem Companies militia drive a vehicle seized from the PA security forces around the Nour Al-Shams refugee camp (T.me/noursams, April 2, 2024)

A militant from the PIJ's Tulkarm Brigades–Jerusalem Companies delivers an anti-PA speech at the funeral of a Tulkarm Brigades operative killed in a clash with PA forces (T.me/noursams, April 2, 2024)

A similar incident took place in May 2024, during which PA security forces killed another member of the PIJ's Tulkarm Brigades–Jerusalem Comopanies. In response, militants from the group opened fire and threw IEDs at local offices of the PA security forces.[32] A statement issued by the "Tulkarm Refugee Camp Brigade" and the "Nour Al-Shams Refugee Camp Brigade" on behalf of all the involved militias called the PA security forces "traitors" and "collaborators" and urged all locals to take to the street in "marches of rage" against the "corrupt" PA.[33] A few weeks later, the Tulkarm Brigades again prevented PA security forces from entering the Tulkarm refugee camp after a PA delegation refused to meet its demands, which included forming a committee to investigate the incidents in which its operatives had been killed by PA security forces and stopping the "persecution" of militia operatives.[34]

The degree to which the Brigades control the Tulkarm refugee camps is demonstrated by the fact that the local militias have taken the law into their own hands. For instance, in November 2023 a body in Tulkarm called the "Resistance Security Forces" accused two locals of collaborating with Israel, interrogated them, and brutally executed them. This was done independently by the group, with total disregard of the PA's official legal system and the presidential authorization needed to carry out executions.[35]

Tubas Brigade Threatens PA Security Apparatuses: "Whoever Is Out To Kill Us Will Not Be Received With Flowers"

Similar incidents have occurred recently in the Tubas governorate, where the local brigade likewise challenges the PA's authority and undermines its control on the ground. The PA security forces, for their part, have tried to maintain their control and restrain the brigade by installing many checkpoints throughout the governorate, especially in the vicinity of the Al-Fara'a camp, and by arresting brigade operatives and seizing their weapons and military gear. This has led to many clashes between the brigade and the PA security forces in the recent months. In early June, for example, as the PA forces attempted to arrest a member of the brigade, the two sides exchanged gunfire and dozens of operatives blocked roads around Tubas, especially at the entrances to the Al-Fara'a camp, and burned tyres. Other attempts by the PA to arrest brigade operatives and seize military gear led to further gunfights that eventually forced the PA forces to release the detainees and return the gear.[36]

Like the Tulkarm Brigade, the Tubas Brigade too threatens the PA forces and incites against them. For instance, in a statement it issued in early June, the brigade expressed puzzlement that the members of the PA forces, "who purport to be part of our [Palestinian] people," pursue the brigade operatives, dismantle the explosive charges they plant against the Israeli forces and seize their vehicles and weapons. "We constantly meet death face to face," the statement said, "and we do not care who is confronting us" – an Israeli force or the PA apparatuses.[37]  A high-ranking official in the brigade added: "Our message is clear… We do not consider the PA a target, but whoever is out to kill us will not be received with flowers…"[38] 

The militias in Tubas, like the ones in Tulkarm, have likewise taken the law into their own hands, as evident from a statement issued in early June by the Tubas Brigade's "internal security apparatus," reporting that the brigade had exonerated a certain Palestinian of collaboration with Israel.[39] 

Video posted by the Tubas Brigade to its Telegram channel shows planting of explosive charges against IDF vehicles (T.me/SarayaaTubas, May 21, 2024)

The PA's Doublespeak: While Acknowledging The Threat Posed By The Militias And Accusing Them Of Receiving Aid From Iran, It Also Condemns Israel For Killing Their Operatives, Presenting Them As "Innocent Civilians"

The PA is fully aware that the growing strength of the terror militias is undermining its rule in the West Bank, including in the Tulkarm and Tubas governorates. This is apparent from its efforts to restrain the militias, which, as stated, sometimes result in deadly clashes, and from the many tours that the PA's interior minister, Ziad Hab Al-Rih, makes in the various governorates.[40] 

Furthermore, PA and Fatah spokespersons repeatedly claim that Iran aids the militias with the aim of subverting the PA and staging a military coup against it. In early April, amid the clashes between the Tulkarm Brigade and the PA security forces, Fatah spokesperson Jamal Nazzal told the Al-Arabiya channel: "In keeping with what Iran is doing in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, or in any other Arab country where it is trying to nest and create a security presence, which will gnaw at the body of the state like a mite until the state collapses – Iran is trying to hire groups that will act at its service in Palestine too… The day before yesterday, group that is loyal to Iran in Tulkarm hijacked a civilian vehicle that belongs to the Palestinian Land Authority – to the State of Palestine. A group of armed men took over the vehicle and drove it around. This has become a security den loyal to Iran, which endangers the Palestinian people. The Iranian fingerprints on Palestinian reality are destructive…"[41]

Similar sentiments were expressed in a statement issued by Fatah in early April, which rejected "all outside interference, especially by the Iranians" in the Palestinians' internal affairs and vowed to prevent anyone from exploiting the Palestinian blood  spilled in Gaza to promote "dubious enterprises that have nothing to do with our Palestinian people and our national cause." Fatah, the statement stressed, would "chop off any hand reaching out to harm our [domestic] arena, our security apparatuses or any of our national institutions." Fatah official Mounir Al-Jaroub clarified that the reference was to Iran's funding and arming of Palestinian militias in the West Bank.[42]  The PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida published many articles in a similar vein.[43]  

However, in this context the PA clearly engages in doublespeak. While it is aware of the threat posed by the militias in these governorates and of their terror activity against Israel, and also accuses them of receiving aid and guidance from Iran, the PA is nevertheless careful to condemn Israel's counterterrorism operations against the militias, calling it unwarranted "aggression" and "crimes" against innocent civilians. For example, a statement issued by by the Palestinian Presidency on April 19, 2024 in response to an Israeli counterterrorism operation in the Tulkarm refugee camp referred to the operation as "the new crime perpetrated by the Israeli occupation in the city of Tulkarm, including in the Nour Al-Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps, in which several of our [Palestinian] people were killed or wounded, infrastructure and property were heavily damaged and civilians were terrorized."[44] The PA news agency reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had instructed the government and the local governor to "thwart the occupation's plans to target the refugee camps, destroy their infrastructure and expel their residents."[45]  Several days later, on April 24, the PA news agency reported that Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa had visited the area after "the massacre perpetrated [there] by the Israeli occupation forces.," in which "14 civilians" were killed.[46]

In fact, every member of these militias killed during these military operations is presented by the PA as an innocent civilian victim, although in most cases they are killed while engaging in terror."[47] For example, on June 4, 2024, the IDF reported killing two terrorists who were attempting to fire on Israeli localities.[48] Telegram channels affiliated the Tulkarm militias,  "The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Youth of Revenge and of Liberation–Tulkarm" and "The Free Men of Tulkarm," confirmed that the two, Abd Al-Fattah Salah Al-Din Jabara and Ahmad Mustafa Rajab, had been killed "while carrying out a shooting operation" and called them "heroes."[49]  The Tulkarm Brigade–Rapid Response militia eulogized them and praised them for dying "while carrying out the duty of jihad," and presented Rajab as one of the brigade founders.[50] Despite this, the official PA news agency WAFA chose to present them as "two civilians shot dead by the occupation forces," while ignoring the circumstances of their death.[51]

Left: The two terrorists killed while firing on Israeli localities; right: Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade eulogizes the two (T.me/a7rartullkarm, June 4, 2024)

* H. Varulkar is Director of Research at MEMRI; S. Schneidmann is a research fellow at MEMRI