Violent armed clashes erupted late Friday between Palestinian security forces and armed elements belonging to the "Tubas Brigade" in Tubas, northern West Bank, following an attempt by security forces to arrest one of the brigade's leaders from Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement. The leader managed to escape the scene, while his brother was arrested but later released after threats from the brigade.
According to local sources and others close to the brigade, Palestinian security forces stormed the southern area of Tubas city near the Al-Quds Open University, arresting a young man named Hamid Musalmani, the brother of wanted figure Imran Musalmani, a leader of the Tubas Brigade. The source close to the brigade stated that security forces had mistaken the brother for Imran and arrested him instead, firing indiscriminately, which suggested premeditated intentions to target and assassinate brigade members and their families amid ongoing pursuit campaigns. This prompted brigade members to respond directly by firing at security force installations.
Following the incident, dozens of angry young men blocked entrances and main roads in Tubas, set tires on fire, and engaged in stone-throwing confrontations with security personnel, who continued to fire directly and launch tear gas, while patrolling the streets of Tubas in civilian vehicles, pursuing youths opposed to the arrest of Musalmani.
The Tubas Brigade threatened to target Palestinian security forces, and a spokesperson clarified that the brigade had repeatedly affirmed its intention not to engage in conflict with Palestinian security elements, emphasizing that their weapons were aimed at the Israeli army.
The spokesperson noted that security forces had intensified their pursuit of brigade members recently, having arrested brigade activist Wadi Faqha two days earlier and confiscated advanced weapons from one of the brigade's prominent leaders. Additionally, they had conducted ongoing patrols in the streets at all hours, set up checkpoints and ambushes, and executed systematic smear campaigns against the leaders and cadres of the security forces, all aimed at forcing the brigade out of clandestine operations into open conflict and dragging them into internal disputes at the expense of resistance efforts.
### Statement from Saraya al-Quds Regarding the Tubas Incident
Following the incident, the "Saraya al-Quds - Tubas Brigade" released a statement via their Telegram page, stating: "The security apparatuses tasked by the Israeli Shabak are arresting and assassinating the Mujahideen mercilessly, without religious or humanitarian motives. What is happening now in the city of Tubas involved Palestinian security personnel surrounding one of the Mujahideen from the Tubas Brigade while he was in a location, and they fired directly at him and at unarmed civilians. However, thanks to God, he survived this failed assassination attempt, along with the arrest of his brother."
The brigade called on what they described as "the elders of the Tubas Governorate clans" to fulfill their responsibilities. The statement emphasized the need to put a stop to the actions of the security forces, stating, "The path taken by the Mujahideen is not to fight their fellow countrymen, but to combat the Zionist enemy." The Tubas Brigade warned that "the actions of the security apparatuses only serve the Israeli occupation and could unleash a flood of bloodshed that God has forbidden," adding: "We have only emerged to confront the occupying enemies of our land and holy sites and to repel them with blood and faith. We remind you of the cowardly assassination carried out by the enemy days ago against one of the security personnel, and we have seen no reaction or condemnation from you."
