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Nablus agreement to end ‘tension’ in city

September 21, 2022 at 12:34 pm

Palestinian protesters clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the occupied West Bank on September 20, 2022 [Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images]

The Factional Coordination Committee in Nablus announced today that an agreement has been reached to end the tension in the West Bank city, Anadolu has reported. Tensions rose on Monday after the Palestinian Authority security services arrested a young man affiliated with the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.

The agreement was announced by Nasr Abu Jaish, coordinator of the committee, a group which includes the PLO factions. “All parties,” he explained, have agreed on the deal.

Abu Jaish told Anadolu that those behind the agreement included senior security officials, Nablus Governor Ibrahim Ramadan and city dignitaries. “This will close the file of the detainee, Musab Shtayyeh, and lead to the formation of a committee of personalities from institutions and initiatives in Nablus to work on visiting him, following up on the conditions of his detention, and work towards a timeframe for his release.”

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He pointed out that the agreement also provides for looking at the issue of individuals wanted by the Israeli occupation as a national issue, and not having the Palestinian security services pursuing them for security reasons. The agreement stipulates the release of individuals arrested in connection with the recent events, with the exception of those violating private property and those arrested on charges of theft.

Nablus city centre has been cleaned up, and renovation work is taking place. Shops and institutions have opened their doors for the first time since Monday evening, when there were confrontations and clashes between protesters and the Palestinian security forces after Shtayyeh’s arrest. He is a member of the armed wing of Hamas. One Palestinian was killed during the clashes, and several others were wounded.

Israel has been pursuing Shtayyeh since the beginning of the year, accusing him of firing a gun in an incident in which an Israeli settler was wounded.