Palestinian Authority police forces blocked Israeli military personnel from entering the city of Jenin on Sunday.
Video footage posted by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, that allegedly “went viral on Facebook, purported to show” PA security officers armed with assault rifles standing in front of Israeli military vehicles, blocking them from advancing into the city.
Another video clip, this one posted by the Hamas-linked Al Quds news network, showed the IDF vehicles turning around and leaving the city, as PA police officers are heard firing their weapons in the air.
According to Israeli and Arab media reports, the Israeli vehicles entered Jenin via a different entrance to the city shortly after.
Both Israeli and Palestinian Authority security forces have targeted Jenin in recent months, in order to keep a lid on terrorist activity, Ma’an reported.
It’s not unusual for Israeli military forces to make the rounds of cities in the Palestinian Authority to capture and detain terror suspects.
Security coordination and cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces is far closer than is realized by most people outside the region — or for that matter, most civilians even living in the region — to the benefit of all.