The Biden administration recently asked Israel to approve urgent US military aid to Palestinian Authority security forces for a rare operation it is currently carrying out against Iranian-backed terror groups in Yehudah and Shomron, Axios reported.

The Biden administration made the request despite the fact that the Palestinian Authority supports terror against Israel and many members of the PA forces have committed terror attacks in Israel.

The operation, the largest in years, was launched in the Jenin “refugee camp,”, a hotbed of Iranian-funded terror, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas terror groups. The city became a no-go zone for PA security forces after local terrorists took control of the area over a year ago.

The fall of the Assad regime raised concerns among PA leaders that Islamic terrorists in Jenin, inspired by the Syrian rebels, will try to overthrow the Palestinian Authority. “It was a Syria effect,” one Palestinian official said. “Abbas and his team were concerned that what happened in Aleppo and Damascus will inspire Palestinian Islamist groups.”

In addition to the “Syria effect,” the PA is motivated by the “Trump effect” – the PA wants to show the incoming Trump administration that it is a reliable partner and perhaps even be a partner in governing the Gaza Strip, which Israel has ruled out as an option.

“It’s a pivotal moment for the Palestinian Authority — either act like a state you say you are or go back to being a militant organization,” the Palestinian official said.

This week, the PA sent a large number of security forces to the area. The forces surrounded the camp, spurring fierce gun battles between the local terrorists and the PA forces.

At the end of the battle, the PA forces had killed the Islamic Jihad commander of Jenin and at least two other terrorists. Dozens of terrorists and several members of the PA security forces were wounded.

A Palestinian official told Axios that Palestinian security chiefs met with U.S. security coordinator Gen. Mike Fenzel ahead of the operation and gave him a list of equipment and ammunition Palestinian security forces urgently need. Israel must approve any military assistance to the PA.

The Palestinian official said that Jenin terrorists, funded by Iran, are better armed and equipped than the Palestinian security forces.

“If the Palestinian security forces had the sufficient weapons the operation would have been over already,” he said.

The Israeli security cabinet met on Sunday to discuss the security situation in Yehudah and Shomron.

Hamas issued an official statement on Tuesday calling on its supporters to mobilize to deter the ongoing Palestinian Authority operation against terror forces in Jenin.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)