The murder of a young woman draws attention to the power struggle in the West Bank

Warning: This story contains disturbing details.

Just before the New Year, 21-year-old Shata al-Sabbah was buying chocolate for her family’s children at a store in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The “fearless” journalism student, who wanted to shed light on the suffering of Palestinians, was with her mother, two young nephews and another relative.

“She was laughing and saying we’re going to sleep all night tonight,” her mother recalls.

Then she was shot in the head.

For Shatha’s mother, Umm al-Motasem, the pain is still felt. She stops to catch her breath.

“Shata’s eyes were wide open. It was like she was looking at me lying on her back with blood coming out of her head.

“I started shouting: ‘Stop shooting! My daughter died. My daughter is dead.”

But the shooting continued for about 10 minutes. Shata died in a pool of her own blood.

Shathi’s family blames the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces for her murder, saying their territory is controlled by the PA.

“It couldn’t have been anyone other than the PA… because they have a very strong presence in our area – no one else could have come or gone,” she told the BBC.

But the PA blames “outlaws” – a term they use for members of the Jenin Battalion, which is made up of fighters from armed groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

The PA exercises limited self-government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Last month, it launched a major security operation in the refugee camp in Jenin, targeting armed groups based there that they see as challenging their rule. It’s been going on for almost four weeks.

The Jenin battalion is accused of blowing up a car in the camp and carrying out other “illegal actions”.

“We seized a large number of weapons and explosive materials,” says PA Brigadier General Anwar Rajab.

“The aim is to clear the camp of explosive devices that have been planted in various streets and alleys… These outlaws have crossed all red lines and spread chaos.”

General Rajab also accuses Iran of supporting and financing armed groups in the camp.

The Jenin Battalion denies any links to Iran. In a recent video posted on social media, spokesman Noor al-Bitar said the PA was trying to “demonize” them and “tarnish their image,” adding that the fighters would not give up their weapons.

“To the PA and President Mahmoud Abbas, why has this come to this?” he asked, holding shrapnel from what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired at the camp by security forces.

The PA, led by President Abbas, was already unpopular among Palestinians, who were unhappy with their abandonment of armed struggle and security coordination with Israel.

This anger has intensified with the PA’s crackdown on armed groups in the camp, unprecedented in its brutality and duration.

Israel views these groups as terrorists, but many local residents of Jenin see them as a form of resistance to the occupation.

“These ‘outlaws’ the PA is referring to are the young people who stand up for us when the Israeli army invades our camp,” says Umm al-Motasem.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 14 people, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed during the crackdown.

Many Jenin locals now say they fear the PA as much as they fear Israeli military raids. The death of Shathi al-Sabbagh only renewed their contempt.

Before she was killed, Shatta shared several posts on social media showing the destruction caused by the PA operation in Jenin, as well as Israeli raids on the camp last year.

Other posts showed pictures of armed youths who had died in the fighting, including her brother.

Her murder was condemned by Hamas, which recognized her brother as the slain member of the armed wing of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades group.

The group described her “cold-blooded murder” as part of a “repressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which has become a symbol of resilience and resistance.”

Mustafa Barghouti, who heads the Palestinian National Initiative political party, sees the fighting in Jenin as the result of a split between the main Palestinian factions – Fatah, which makes up most of the PA, and Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

“The last thing Palestinians need is to see Palestinians shooting each other while Israel suppresses everyone,” he says.

Inside the camp, residents say daily life has come to a standstill.

Water and electricity have been cut off, families are suffering from food shortages, bitterly cold weather and merciless gunfire.

Local residents who spoke to us asked that their names be changed, saying they feared reprisals by the PA.

“It’s terrible here. We cannot move freely in the camp,” says Mohammed.

“All bakeries, restaurants and shops are closed. The restaurant I work at opens for the day and closes at 10. When it’s open, no one comes.

“We need milk for the children, we need bread. Some people can’t open their doors because of the continuous shooting.”

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, has called for an investigation into what it describes as human rights abuses by PA forces.

General Rajab said that some of the “criminals” who “took over” the Jenin camp had been arrested and that others whose cases were pending would be prosecuted.

But Mohammed describes the PA operation – with innocent people caught in the crossfire – as “collective punishment”.

“If they want to chase the robbers, that doesn’t mean they have to punish the whole camp. We want to get our lives back.”

Even going out to get food or water is a risk, says 20-year-old Sadaf.

“When we leave, we say our last prayers. We are preparing morally that we may not return.

“It’s very cold. We took the door off our house to use it as firewood to keep warm.”

The BBC heard similar accounts from four camp residents.

My conversation with Sadaf is interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It is not clear from where and who is shooting. It starts and stops several times.

“Maybe warning shots,” she suggests, adding that this sometimes happens when PA forces change shifts.

Sadaf goes on to describe the camp, where “garbage fills the streets and almost gets into the houses.” More gunfire is heard.

Sadaf’s mother joins the call. “Listen to this… Can anyone sleep with that sound in the background?

“Now we sleep in shifts. We are so afraid that they might raid our homes. We are afraid of this operation as much as if and when the Israeli soldiers are here.”

People say security forces deliberately hit power lines and generators, leaving the camp without power.

PA again blames “outlaws” – and insists that it brought in workers to repair the network.

The armed groups want to “use the suffering of the people to pressure the PA to stop the operation,” General Rajab says. According to him, the security operation will continue until the objectives are achieved.

General Rajab says the PA’s goal is to establish control over the Jenin camp and ensure security and stability.

He believes that losing control over the armed groups will deprive Israel of a reason to attack the camp.

At the end of August Israel’s army conducted a major nine-day “counter-terrorist” operation in the city of Jenin and the campwhich resulted in severe destruction.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 36 Palestinians were killed – 21 from Jenin Governorate.

Analysts say the PA is trying to reassert its power in the West Bank and show the US that it is capable of taking a role in the future governance of Gaza.

– What would be the harm? says Gen. Rajab.

Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Gaza and the West Bank are not separate entities. There is no Palestinian state without Gaza. The president (Mahmoud Abbas) said this and this is our strategy.”

But Barghouti says this approach is an “illusion.” “All you need to do is listen to what (Binyamin) Netanyahu has to say,” he adds.

Under the Israeli prime minister’s vision for post-war Gaza, Israel would control security indefinitely and Palestinians “not affiliated with groups hostile to Israel” – so none of the existing mainstream Palestinian political parties – would rule the territory.

But the US, Israel’s main ally, wants the PA to rule Gaza after the war. Netanyahu previously ruled out a post-war role for the PA, which is supported by the international community.

The residents of the Jenin camp did not stop at violence and loss.

“The PA says they are here for our safety. Where is the security when my daughter was killed? Where is the security with the continuous shooting?” Um al-Motasem is crying.

“They can go after ‘outlaws’ but why did my daughter have to die? Justice will be served when I know who killed my daughter,” she says.