Tubas, a city in the northern West Bank, has recently experienced one of the most severe assassination operations by the Israeli army, which resulted in 7 martyrs and numerous injuries. Just two days following the raid at Far'a camp near Tubas, the occupation forces stormed into Tubas itself, besieging homes of individuals on their wanted list, and fired Energa anti-tank rockets towards these locations.
Such invasions are not new to Tubas; the city has nearly become accustomed to such daily occurrences, with the occupying forces justifying their actions by claiming to pursue "wanted individuals" causing significant disturbance and striking against their soldiers and settlers.
Like other cities in the northern West Bank, Tubas has etched its way onto the map of Palestinian struggle, with the past two years seeing an expansion of its role in active resistance, through what is now known as brigades and groups.
Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, announced the formation of the "Tubas Brigade" in mid-June last year, leading to the involvement of resistance factions, particularly the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. They have since taken similar steps, actively targeting the occupation.
Tubas, once known for its serenity as described by its residents, has shed this calm persona to confront and clash with the occupation forces, successfully thwarting their attempts to arrest wanted individuals.
The city's resistance extends its influence to surrounding villages and camps, forming combatant groups in Akaba, Tammun, and the Far'a camp, all sharing a common goal: to resist the occupation and curb its aggressions. Beyond Tubas, fighters such as Ahmed Atef Draghmeh have fallen as martyrs in Nablus while opposing settler raids, followed by Ahmed Abu Salah in Jenin.
Omar Ayinbusi, a community activist in Tubas, asserts that the city's situation stems from a historical legacy, not just recent events. The city served as a main pillar of the Palestinian revolution in 1965, igniting perpetual flames of resistance.
Due to its border location, dubbed the "East Gate of the Fedayeen," Tubas facilitated the movement of revolutionaries to smuggle ammunition and arms across borders to Jordan and territories occupied in 1948.
The general surge in West Bank resistance is mirrored in Tubas; their armed cells formed to counter the occupation, which has exerted full force to eliminate such resistance due to its impact on nearby settlements and military posts.
Multiple factors contributed to the rapid re-emergence of resistance in Tubas, including widespread anger, a deadlocked political horizon, and the geography of the city, which enhanced its population density and facilitated direct connections with its sole camp and neighboring villages. Ayinbusi highlights the rural, religious, and conservative character of Tubas, where a generation unconditioned and unbrainwashed lives with a firm ideological belief.
In Tubas and Northern Jordan Valley, which comprise most of the city's territory, the occupation has ramped up settlement activities, pursuing and displacing its inhabitants. Over 90% of Tubas’ territory, around 400 square kilometers, has been converted by the occupation into closed military zones for training, disrupting the livelihoods of its predominantly agricultural residents. Palestinian Ministry of Economy data indicates that since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, the agricultural sector in Tubas has suffered a 70% loss.
Ayinbusi concludes that all occupation efforts to end the phenomenon of resistance in Tubas have failed, having the opposite effect. The populace broadly supports the resurgent resistance, now better prepared and equipped, as seen by the ferocity of confrontations and resistance attacks.
Palestinian Information Center statistics show that there have been 318 acts of resistance in Tubas since the start of the year, with 80 shooting incidents and one downed reconnaissance drone, resulting in 22 martyrs, including the Gaza offensive that erupted military invasions and confrontations in Tubas.
Basil Mansour, a member of the faction coordination committee in Tubas, attributes the city's unrest to the maxim "violence begets violence." The occupation has obliterated all economic and political prospects for the residents renowned for providing sustenance to Palestinians, restricting their access to land through military checkpoints and threatening their livelihood. The failed political landscape has shifted the Palestinian demand from a two-state solution to advocating for a single Palestinian state from the river to the sea.
The rise in resistance activities in Tubas, especially with the quick formation of armed cells and the influx of weapons, seems inevitable as Mansour suggests that accessibility makes their use simpler.
Palestinian political researcher Ahmad Abu Al-Haija believes that for this resistance to be more successful, it should adopt the traditional guerrilla warfare approach, operating secretly and strategically, focusing on ambushes rather than displays. This method, he says, is more effective, less wasteful, and garners broader societal support.
