This is basically civil war' Palestinian Authority raid has West Bank living in fear

AMid the echo of gunfire and explosions, 23-year-old Mariam picked her way through puddles on the unpaved streets of the refugee camp adjacent to the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, determined to get to a university class.

- Bethan McKernan, Sufian Taha

A sniper believed to be part of the Palestinian Authority forces shot and killed her friend, 22-year-old journalism student Shatha al-Sabbagh, a few days ago.

An unprecedented operation by the authority on armed militant groups in the camp is now entering its second month, and shows no sign of ending. Mariam's family has decided to try to preserve as much of their normal routine as they can.

"My mum is a teacher, and my sister studies with me," she said. "It's not possible to go out every day. When we do, we risk our lives, and for what? This is basically a civil war: Palestinians killing Palestinians."

Jenin's refugee camp, one of 19 across the West Bank built to house displaced Palestinians in the aftermath of the creation of Israel in 1948, has always been an important centre of armed Palestinian resistance to the occupation. It is no stranger to operations by the Israel Defense Forces, which have increased in scale and scope since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

The new Palestinian Authority raid on the camp is the largest operation the western-backed governing body has undertaken in the 30 years since it was formed. Israel hopes it can delegate stamping out militant activity to the authority, which is seeking to prove it would be able to govern the Gaza Strip when the war there ends.

Instead, growing anger at the lengthy, destructive raid, and what is considered by much of the Palestinian public as increasing complicity in the occupation by the authority, could fuel further unrest.

During the Guardian's visit to Jenin on Tuesday, ambulances raced up and down the main road leading to the camp, bouncing through muddy water on roads churned up during previous incursions by Israeli tanks and bulldozers.