| Lions' Den | |
|---|---|
 Logo used by Lions' Den | |
| Founders | Mohammed al-Azizi † Abdel Rahman Suboh † Abdul Hakim Shaheen † |
| Foundation | July 2022 |
| Headquarters | Nablus,West Bank,Palestine[1] |
| Size | ~100 (according to Palestinian security sources in 2022)[2] |
| Allies |  Hamas[3][4]Nablus Brigade OtherWest Bank militias |
| Opponents | |
TheLions' Den (Arabic:عرين الأسود,romanized: ʿArīn al-ʾUsud) is aPalestinian militant group operating in theIsraeli-occupiedWest Bank.[5]
The group emerged in August 2022, a year of increased violence in theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, and takes its moniker from its co-founder[6][7] Ibrahim al-Nablusi, a prominent militant from Nablus, nicknamed "The Lion of Nablus", who was killed in an Israeli raid.[8][9] It comprises members of other Palestinian militant organizations,[10] traditionally opposed by Fatah, includingHamas andPalestinian Islamic Jihad, and disaffected members ofFatah, mainly young and secular.[5] The group is reportedly based in theOld City of Nablus.[11]
The organization was founded by a 25-year-old Palestinian named Mohammed al-Azizi, more commonly known as "Abu Saleh", and his friend Abdel Rahman Suboh, or "Abu Adam", 28 years old. They were both killed in fighting in July 2022.[12][13] The group has experienced a rise in popularity among Palestinians in the West Bank, spurred by mounting frustration with the over 50 year oldIsraeli occupation of the West Bank, the seeming permanence ofIsraeli settlements and an accompanying increasingIsraeli settler violence, along with ineffective governance by thePalestinian Authority.[5]
The group has experienced a rise in popularity among Palestinians in the West Bank, regularly sharing videos of their attacks onTikTok andTelegram. Their TikTok account was suspended in October 2022,[14] leading the group to publish the rest of their videos to their Telegram account, which holds 238,000 subscribers as of 24 February 2023.[11]
2022 was the deadliest year in theWest Bank for Palestinians since 2015, mostly focused on Nablus and Jenin. There has been a notable rise in violence by extremist Jewish settlers. Following the killing of an Israeli soldier on 11 October 2022, for which the Lions' Den claimed responsibility, Nablus is under a tight siege which Palestinians protest as collective punishment.[15][16]
The group receives undisclosed amounts of funds fromHamas andPalestinian Islamic Jihad according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.[17][18]
Lions' Den grew out of the relatedNablus Brigade.[19][20] Ibrahim al-Nabulsi was a co-founder of both groups.[21][22] Lions' Den was first identified by Palestinian media in August 2022, when it claimed responsibility for an attack onIDF soldiers inRujeib, West Bank.[23] The group then held a rally inNablus in September, honouring twoPalestinian Islamic Jihad members who had been killed in July.[23] The same month, Israeli police said that they had foiled a plan by the group to carry out a large-scale attack in southernTel Aviv, and arrested a suspect trying to enter the city carrying two pipe bombs and asubmachine gun.[24][23]ThePalestinian Authority also made an arrest of an individual associated with the group inNablus,[25] resulting in clashes between hundreds of militants and security forces, and one civilian being shot and killed by the PA force.[26] In late September, shots were fired at the Israeli settlement ofHar Bracha and a nearby military post, and the Lions' Den claimed responsibility.[27] A Lions' Den member was later killed in an IDF ambush.[28]
In October, a taxi and bus were shot at by militants nearElon Moreh in theWest Bank, injuring the taxi driver. A demonstration by localIsraeli settlers to protest the incident was attacked with gunfire, wounding a soldier. The Lions' Den claimed responsibility for the incidents.[29][30] Shots were also fired at Israeli troops nearItamar andBeita, but nobody was harmed.[31]An IDF raid on 5 October to find the suspects of the earlier attacks resulted in the arrest a member of the group and one militant being killed.[32] Israeli settlers held a demonstration on 11 October inJerusalem to protest the recent attacks. A 21-year-old Israeli soldier who had been assigned to defend the group was shot and killed, and the Lions' Den claimed responsibility.[15]
Israeli media reported in mid-October that Prime MinisterYair Lapid, alternate prime minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz along with the heads of Israel's Mossad and Shin Bet, met to discuss the group and the recent escalations in the West Bank.[33] On 18 October, another member of the group was arrested by the IDF.[11] On 23 October, another member of the Lions' Den, was killed by a bomb planted on a motorcycle in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.[34]
On 25 October 2022, Israeli soldiers raided an apartment in Nablus allegedly in use by the group as a headquarters. Three Lions' Den militants were killed, including leader and co-founder Wadee al-Houh. Two Palestinian civilians were also killed in the nearby areas. Protests erupted in the town ofNabi Saleh hours after the raid, resulting in a Palestinian man being killed by Israeli soldiers.[35]
In February 2023, Israeli soldiersconducted a military incursion into the Palestinian city of Nablus.[36] The initial targets were Lions' Den members Husam Bassam Isleem (24) and Muhammad Omar “Juneidi” Abu Bakr (23), who were shot and killed. Five other group members were also killed during firefight in the city. Four Palestinian civilians, including three elderly men and a boy, were also killed by the Israeli soldiers.[37]
Following the assassinations in February 2023, Lions' Denexecuted one of their members for allegedly sharing information with the Israeli security services that led to the deaths of several leaders of the group. The young man had been bribed andblackmailed byShin Bet, allegedly using a video of him having sex with a male partner.[38][39][40][41]
Lions' Den has been reported to be largely dormant since the summer of 2023.[42][43]
However, in April 2024, according to Palestinian media, the group conducted shooting attacks at Israeli forces at a checkpoint near Nablus.[44]
On June 6, 2024, the United States imposed sanctions on Lions' Den, declaring it as a threat to peace and stability in the West Bank. The sanctions include freezing of any assets the group holds under U.S. jurisdiction and barring Americans from dealing with the group.[45]
A newly established group in Nablus called the Lions' Den, for example, consists of hundreds of young people from different Palestinian groups who take part in shootings on IDF forces.
