Palestinian Authority forces are clashing with armed groups in the occupied West Bank in a rare crackdown aimed at restoring order in a militant stronghold.

Following a ten-day siege, the Palestinian Authority 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 Palestinian Authority has shut down the operations of Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera in the West Bank, according to local reports. In a statement, Al Jazeera condemned Fatah, the Palestinian Authority ruling party in the West Bank, for what it described as an “incitement campaign” against the news organization and its reporters.

A member of the Palestinian security forces has been killed and two others injured during an operation against armed Palestinians in Jenin, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Sunday.