The murder of a young woman sheds light on the power struggle in the West Bank

Warning: This story contains disturbing details.

Just before the New Year, 21-year-old Shatta al Sabagh was out buying chocolate for her family's children at a shop in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The “fearless” journalism student – who wanted to shine a light on the suffering of Palestinians – was with her mother, two young nephews and another relative.

“She was laughing and saying we're going to be up all night tonight,” her mother recalled.

Then she was shot in the head.

For Shatha's mother Umm al-Motassem, the pain is still raw. She stops to catch her breath.

“Shatta's eyes were wide open. She seemed to be staring at me as she lay on her back with blood gushing from her head.

“I started yelling, 'Stop shooting! My daughter is dead. My daughter is dead.”

However, the shooting continued for about 10 minutes. Shatta died in a pool of his own blood.

Shatta's family holds Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces solely responsible for her murder, saying their area is controlled by the PA.

“It couldn't have been anyone but the PA … because they have such a strong presence in our neighborhood – no one else could have come or gone,” she told the BBC.

But the PA blames “outlaws” – the term they use for members of the Jenin Battalion, made up of fighters from armed groups including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

The PA exercises limited autonomy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

He launched a major security operation in the Jenin refugee camp last month, targeting armed groups based there that they see as a challenge to their rule. Almost four weeks later it continues.

The Jenin battalion is accused of blowing up a car in the camp and carrying out other “illegal activities”.

“We confiscated a large number of weapons and explosive materials,” said Brigadier General Anwar Rajab of the PA.

“The aim is to clear the camp of the explosive devices that have been placed in various streets and alleys… These criminals have crossed all red lines and spread chaos.”

General Rajab also accused Iran of supporting and funding the armed groups in the camp.

The Jenin battalion denies links to Iran. In a recent video posted on social media, spokesman Noor al-Bitar said the PA was trying to “demonize” them and “tarnish their image,” adding that the fighters would not surrender their weapons.

“To the PA and President Mahmoud Abbas, why did it come to this?” he asked, holding shrapnel from what he claimed was a rocket-propelled grenade fired at the camp by security forces.

The PA, led by President Abbas, was already unpopular among Palestinians unhappy with its rejection of armed struggle and security coordination with Israel.

This anger intensified with the PA's crackdown on armed groups in the camp, which was unprecedented in its ferocity and duration.

Israel sees these groups as terrorists, but many Jenin locals see them as a form of resistance to the occupation.

“These 'criminals' the PA is talking about – these are the young men who stand up for us when the Israeli army attacks our camp,” Umm al-Motasem says.

At least 14 people were killed in the crackdown, including a 14-year-old child, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Many Jenin locals now say they fear the PA as much as they fear Israel's military incursions. The death of Shatha al-Sabbagh only renewed their contempt.

Before she was killed, Shatta shared several posts on social media showing the destruction from the PA operation in Jenin – as well as Israeli raids on the camp last year.

Other posts showed pictures of armed young men killed in the fighting, including her brother.

Her killing was condemned by Hamas, which identified her brother as a slain member of the group's armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

The group described her “murder…in cold blood” as part of “an oppressive policy targeting the Jenin camp, which has become a symbol of steadfastness and resistance.”

Mustafa Barghouti, who heads the Palestinian National Initiative political party, sees the fighting in Jenin as the result of divisions between the main Palestinian factions – Fatah, which makes up most of the PA, and Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

“The last thing Palestinians need is to watch Palestinians shoot each other while Israel crushes everyone,” he says.

Inside the camp, residents say everyday life has come to a standstill.

Water and electricity are cut off and families suffer from lack of food, bitterly cold weather and relentless gunfire.

Locals who spoke to us asked that their names be changed, saying they feared reprisals from the BKP.

“Things here are terrible. We cannot move freely in the camp,” says Mohammed.

“All bakeries, restaurants and shops are closed. The restaurant I work in opens for one day and closes for 10. When it's open, no one comes.

“We need milk for the children, we need bread. Some people can't open their doors because of the constant shooting.”

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, has called for an investigation into what it describes as human rights abuses by PA forces.

General Rajab said some of the “criminals” who “hijacked” the Jenin camp had been arrested and that others with pending cases would be brought to justice.

But Mohammed described the PA operation – with innocent people caught in the crossfire – as “collective punishment”.

“If they want to go after criminals, that doesn't mean they have to punish the whole camp. We want our lives back.”

Even going out for food or water is a risk, says 20-year-old Sadaf.

“When we go out, we say our last prayers. We are mentally preparing that we may not come back.

“It's very cold. We took down the doors of our home to use as firewood just to keep warm.'

The BBC heard similar accounts from four camp residents.

My conversation with Sadaf is interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It is not clear where it is from and who is shooting. It starts and stops several times.

“Maybe warning shots,” she suggests, adding that this sometimes happens when PA forces change shifts.

Sadaf goes on to describe the camp as “garbage filling the streets and almost entering the homes.” More gunfire is heard.

Sadaf's mother joins the call. “Listen to this… Can anyone sleep with this sound in the background?

“Now we sleep in shifts. We are so afraid that they might attack our homes. We fear this operation as much as when the Israeli soldiers are here.”

People say security forces deliberately hit power grids and generators, leaving the camp blackout.

PA again blames “criminals” – and insists it has brought in workers to fix the network.

The armed groups want to “use the suffering of the people to put pressure on the PA to stop the operation,” General Rajab says. He said the security operation will continue until the objectives are achieved.

General Rajab says the PA's goal is to establish control over the Jenin camp and ensure safety and stability.

He believes that taking control of the armed groups will take away Israel's excuse to attack the camp.

At the end of August, The Israeli army conducted a major nine-day counter-terrorism operation in the city of Jenin and the campwhich caused serious damage.

At least 36 Palestinians were killed – 21 from Jenin province – according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Analysts say the PA is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and show the US it is capable of taking a role in the future governance of Gaza.

“What harm will that do?” says Gen Rajab.

“Gaza is part of the Palestinian state. Gaza and the West Bank are not separate entities. There is no Palestinian state without Gaza. The president (Mahmoud Abbas) said this and this is our strategy.”

But Barghouti says this approach is an “illusion”. “All you need is to listen to what (Benyamin) Netanyahu says,” he adds.

Under the Israeli prime minister's vision for a post-war Gaza, Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians with “no ties to groups hostile to Israel” — so none of the existing major Palestinian political parties — would rule the territory.

But the US, Israel's main ally, wants the PA to rule Gaza after the war. Netanyahu had previously ruled out a post-war role for the internationally backed PA.

For the residents of the Jenin camp, there has been no end to the violence and loss.

“The agency says they are here for our safety. Where is the safety when my daughter was killed? Where is the safety with the incessant shooting?” Umm al-Motaseem cries.

“They can go after the 'criminals' but why did my daughter have to die? Justice will be served when I find out who killed my daughter,” she says.