RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – The main Palestinian faction in the occupied West Bank accused Iran on Wednesday of trying to spread chaos in its territory and said it would oppose external operations that had nothing to do with the Palestinian cause .
Fatah, the movement that controls the Palestinian Authority, said it would not allow “our sacred cause and the blood of our people to be exploited” and said it would take action against any external interference aimed at harming security forces or institutions national.
Israel has long accused Iran of helping Palestinian armed groups including Hamas, the Gaza-based Islamist group that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and has become more deeply entrenched in the West Bank in recent years.
Last month, the Israeli military said security forces had stopped the smuggling of advanced weapons, including anti-tank mines, into the West Bank.
In the past, Iran has not denied providing support to armed groups, saying that whatever support it offers is at the request of the Palestinians.
Fatah’s statement came as the Palestinian Authority called on the United Nations Security Council to vote this month to make it a full member of the United Nations, a move that would add to growing global pressure for a two-state solution with Israel.
Occupied by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war, the West Bank has been at the center of decades of conflict with the Palestinians, who want the area to become the heart of a future independent state that also includes Gaza and has East Jerusalem as capital. .
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the war in Gaza began last October and thousands have been arrested, while violence has increased across the area, with more than a dozen Israelis killed in attacks by Palestinians .