Israel has detained three alleged members of the Lions’ Den militant group in the occupied West Bank, the army said. The brother of a key Palestinian militant was also held. The arrest of Muhammad al-Nabulsi and two others in Nablus comes a day after five Palestinians were killed during an Israeli military operation in the city.
“Muhammad Al-Nabulsi was suspected of possessing weapons, manufacturing explosive devices and involvement in the ‘Lions’ Den’ terrorist group,” the army said in a statement.
The Lion’s Den, called “Areen al-Ossoud” in Arabic, comprises young Palestinian fighters, some of whom are affiliated with groups such as Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The group had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an Israeli soldier two weeks ago in the occupied West Bank.
The late leader of the group, Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, nicknamed The Lion of Nablus, was shot dead by Israeli forces in August. He has attained the position of a folk hero among Palestinians on social media.
Meanwhile, thousands of mourners poured onto the streets for mass funerals of the Palestinians killed earlier. The Palestinian health ministry said five people were killed in Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in Ramallah which houses the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in the central West Bank.
The Israeli army confirmed the large-scale night operation in Nablus in a joint statement with police and intelligence agencies. It said that it had raided a “hideout apartment… that was used as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site”.
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Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that Wadi al-Houh, the supposed head of the Lions’ Den, was among those killed in Nablus.
“The forces detonated the explosive manufacturing site,” added the army statement.
“During the activity, multiple armed suspects were hit.”
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah said in a statement that he is establishing “urgent contacts in order to stop this aggression against our people”.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had “real concern” over the West Bank violence.
“We’re urging everyone to take the necessary steps to try to de-escalate that violence and to avoid actions or statements that may incite it,” he said during a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Violence in the north of the West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel, has surged in recent weeks.
(With inputs from agencies)
