United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pressured Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen at their meeting earlier this week to adopt and implement an American security plan, which aims to restore the Palestinian Authority's control over Jenin and Nablus, which have become centers of terrorism in the West Bank; this is according to a Hebrew report by “Walla”.

President Biden's administration is looking for ways to contain the escalation in the West Bank, fearing that it will degenerate into a third intifada. Senior American and Israeli officials see the loss of the Palestinian Authority's security control in northern Samaria (what the US calls the West Bank) as a major reason for the escalation. Under several agreements, including the Oslo accords, the Palestinian Authority is responsible for policing cities in 'Area A', areas that are fully under Palestinian control.

Scoop: Secretary of State Blinken pressed Palestinian President Abbas to accept & implement a U.S. security plan aimed at reestablishing Palestinian Authority control over the cities of Jenin & Nablus which have become centers of unrest. My story on @axioshttps://t.co/HiH0MNaYIy

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) February 1, 2023

In the last three years, there has been a gradual process of weakening the Palestinian Authority and its security forces, especially in the cities of Jenin and Nablus in the northern Samaria region. This process took place in part following the revocation of funds to the Palestinian Authority by the Trump administration which led to the PA’s decision to suspend security coordination with Israel for several months.

The economic crisis in the PA, the corruption, and the general disgust of the Palestinian public towards the Palestinian government led to a decrease in its legitimacy and in the motivation of the Palestinian security forces to use their power against unruly elements. Often, Palestinian police are targeted by militants in Nablus and Jenin as well as other Palestinian-controlled cities in Judea and Samaria. The only city firmly in the PA's grasp is the capital, Ramallah although there have been signs that this too is waning.

The result was the retreat of the PA security forces and the subsequent takeover of the city of Jenin by armed militias identified with the Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and rogue Fatah members who do not accept the authority's orders. Later, a similar phenomenon occurred in Nablus, albeit on a smaller scale, in the form of the Lions' Den group’s takeover.

Blinken demanded Abu Mazen implement American security plan to take over #Jenin and #Nablus. Biden administration presented #PaleStinians with plan drawn up by American general whose goal is to regain control over northern West Bank 2 hotbeds of terrorism. #Israel pic.twitter.com/Z8IYXOJWyR

— Eli Dror (@edrormba) February 1, 2023

During the meeting between Blinken and Abu Mazen in Ramallah, the American Secretary of State stressed to the Palestinian President that the most important step the Palestinian Authority needs to take to curb the escalation is to adopt and implement a security plan formulated by American security coordinator General Mike Fenzel.

According to the report, the Palestinians refused to accept the plan, claiming that it is not compatible with the way their security mechanisms operate, which is also based on negotiations and not only on the use of force. Also, the schedule that the Americans set as part of the implementation of the plan was very short and the Palestinians claimed that in order to carry out such a move they needed additional time to train public opinion.

♦️ The American plan was drawn up by US General Michael Fenzel a few weeks ago, and includes the training of a special Palestinian force and its deployment in Nablus and Jenin to confront the armed fighters there, and Blinken pressured Abbas to implement it.

— Younis | يونس (@ytirawi) February 1, 2023

The Palestinian leadership often praises terror attacks and symbolically mourns dead militants who are killed in battle with Israeli forces. Oftentimes, the PA exclude the fact that the dead are militants and use terms like 'children of Palestine' and 'the oppressed martyrs' to describe them, ignoring the circumstances of their death in what is an elaborate public relations effort to paint Israel as indiscriminately killing innocent Palestinians.

In addition to putting pressure on Abu Mazen regarding the security plan, Blinken urged the chairman of the Authority to resume security coordination with Israel, which the Authority announced last week had been suspended. Senior officials in Abbas's office refused to comment on the matter. The US State Department also refused to comment.