On August 23, 2019, comrades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine rose through the ashes of Oslo, dismantling illusions of peace upheld by the PA’s security services to restore the era of fida’i operations, tearing apart the false sense of security imposed by the occupation and its collaborators.
Near Deir Ibzi’ in #Ramallah, five comrades executed a complex operation that resulted in the killing of an extremist rabbi and the wounding of two settlers, including an IOF officer, with a PFLP-manufactured explosive. The rabbi had hesitated greatly before entering the area, a natural water spring used by local Palestinian villagers, and called upon the IOF for protection.
The heroes Samer Al-Arabid, Yazan Mughamis, Qassam Al-Barghouti, Nizam Amter, and Walid Hanatsheh defied this illusion of protection, targeting the settlers strolling through land not theirs.
The operation was a significant blow, not just in terms of its immediate impact, but in its broader implications. It shattered the myth of the recently unveiled “israeli”-American “deal of the century,” upending the occupation’s plans for expansion and theft of Palestinian resources. The resistance demonstrated that even in the heart of Ramallah, a symbol of the PA’s security cooperation, the spirit of armed struggle is alive.
This was not the first time that Ein Bubin witnessed the fire of resistance. The spring situated west of Ramallah is a microcosm of the larger struggle: In 2015, fighter and prisoner Mohammed Abu Shahin carried out a shooting operation there, killing a settler and wounding another. Zionists renamed it “Ein Dani” after the killed settler, but his memorial has been repeatedly destroyed by local Palestinians.
The Ein Bubin operation also highlighted the technical expertise and organizational capacity of the PFLP, which was and still is feared by the IOF. The occupation, hoping this was an isolated incident, soon realized that this was part of a larger, organized cell. Their panic was palpable as they resorted to brutal interrogation techniques and torture against the five comrades, but failed to break their resolve. The IOF abducted 40 Palestinians, mostly students and activists, and tortured many. In this time, the cell carried out two more shooting operations.
Samir Arabid and Walid Hanatsheh were subjected to extreme torture, with Samir’s bones broken and Walid’s legs and feet turning black due to abuse in 23-hour-long daily interrogations. Samir, accused of leading the cell, lost his hearing and suffered from kidney failure due to torture. Walid, along with Secretary-General Ahmed Saadat, was subjected to isolation and prison transfers in the summer of 2023 following the “Beitar Illit” operation.
More broadly, the “Ein Bubin” operation was a direct challenge to the socio-political order imposed by the occupation and its collaborators, at a time when operations were less frequent. The heroes reminded the world that the struggle for Palestine is not just about land but about dignity, identity, and the right to resist oppression. As the occupation escalated its efforts to crush the resistance, it became clear that the “Ein Bubin” operation had a greater impact, reigniting the spirit of resistance in a time of despair and proving the will to fight could not be extinguished by years of occupation or by the illusions of peace processes.
Further, the operation is a model of the revolutionary student fighter. In honor of the operation, the PFLP’s student bloc at Birzeit announced heroic prisoner Yazan Mughamis as its chairman last year, as he was its Deputy Secretary in 2019. This coincided with a commemoration of the operation, where its heroes were honored under the model of “Intellect and Rifle.”
The five heroes, their homes demolished by the IOF, now endure the occupation’s prisons, serving life sentences for their heroic acts, undeterred. Their legacy, however, proves that resistance is a continuous benefit, as students, fighters, and workers vow to continue their path.
