Rami Zahran was shot dead in Al-Far’a refugee camp, not by Israeli soldiers, but by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces—the very people who were meant to protect him. His only “crime” was driving his brother’s car, a brother wanted by both the IDF and the PA for his role in the resistance. In a land where daily life is already marked by military raids and settler violence, the bullets that took Zahran’s life came from within—a shocking betrayal that has ignited outrage across the occupied West Bank.

His killing is not an isolated incident. Since October 2023, at least 22 Palestinians have been killed by PA forces, many of them in resistance strongholds like Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas. These deaths—targeting fighters, ex-prisoners, and their relatives—paint a disturbing picture of a security apparatus that has drifted far from its supposed mission. Instead of defending the Palestinian people, it appears increasingly devoted to suppressing resistance, often in parallel with Israeli interests.

As Gaza burns and the West Bank remains under siege, the PA’s actions seem aimed at proving its “stability” to the very occupation that devastates its people. Intelligence sharing, arrests of resistance members, and now targeted killings reveal a deeply compromised leadership—one that has chosen security coordination over national unity. The assassination of Rami Zahran is being seen by many not as a mistake, but as a calculated act within this political framework.

Palestinians are demanding accountability. Civil society groups, families of political prisoners, and national factions have condemned the killing, warning that these internal attacks only fracture the people’s resilience. At a time when unity is vital, the PA’s growing role in silencing resistance risks severing its final ties with the population it claims to represent. If this path continues, the Palestinian struggle will not only be weakened by external force—but hollowed out from within.