Palestinian Fatah Says Iran Trying To Spread Chaos In West Bank

The main Palestinian faction in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday accused Iran of trying to spread chaos in its territory and said it would oppose foreign 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 act against any interference from outside aimed at harming security forces or national institutions.

Israel has long accused Iran of helping Palestinian armed groups including Hamas, which led the October 7 attack on Israel, and which has become more deeply entrenched in the West Bank over recent years.

The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad visited Iran last week, attesting to the Tehran's growing influence on Palestinian politics, almost six months after the attack on Israel.

In addition to financial and logistical support, Tehran does everything it can to tilt the balance of power among Palestinian factions away from the Palestinian Authority and towards Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whom, unlike Fatah, Iran considers friends and allies.

Last month, the Israeli military said security forces had stopped advanced weapons including anti tank mines from being smuggled into the West Bank.

In the past, Iran has not denied providing support to the armed groups, saying whatever backing it gives is at the request of the Palestinians.

The statement from Fatah came as the Palestinian Authority has asked the United Nations Security Council to vote this month to make it a full UN member, a move that would add to mounting 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 heart of decades of conflict with the Palestinians, who want the area as the heart of a future independent state that would also include Gaza and have East Jerusalem as its capital.

(With reporting by Reuters)