As one thinks about the Palestinian resistance, Fatah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad come to mind as traditional groups that have defined the Palestinian resistance for decades. In the face of the ongoing conflict with Israel and the ineffectiveness of the traditional Palestinian groups and leaders, a new generation of Palestinian youth have created their own new resistance movement, to fight for the independence of their country and what they view as the system of apartheid and oppression that Israel has consolidated on the ground. Lions’ Den represents this emerging movement that appears to be changing the face of Palestinian resistance.
Who are the Lions’ Den?
Lions’ Den (romanised Arabic: ʿArīn al-ʾUsud) are an armed group of young men based in the city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, their goal is to protect the city from Israel’s armed forces and settlers. They emerged officially on September 2, 2022, following the killing of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi in August 2022, a prominent militant who was nicknamed the “Lion of Nablus”. 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. Israel’s armed forces targeted the Lions’ Den in a series of raids it launched in the city of Nablus, as part of a plan called “Break the Wave’ in an attempt to dismantle the group and other armed networks through targeted killings and arrests; and they did so by killing Adham al-Shishani, Mohammad al-Dakhil, Ashraf Mubaslat, and Ibrahim al-Nabulsi and other fighters, all prominent top militants some of whom were co-founders of the group. Additionally, they arrested Musab Shtayyeh one of the group’s senior leaders and a high-priority target for Israel.
Some members of the group were the formerly members of traditional factions such as Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), but they deny any official connection with them. The group is based in the Old City of Nablus. As a result of their promises and operations, the group has become a popular brand among Palestinians, especially on social media, and some consider its commanders to be national heroes. The group has been regularly sharing videos of their attacks on TikTok and Telegram. Their TikTok account was suspended in October 2022 but their Telegram account remains active.
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.
A New Generation of Palestinian Resistance
Around 800,000 settlers live in the West Bank, and Israel’s authorities plan to expand the settlements even further in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some Palestinians feel that they get humiliated at military checkpoints, and their basic human right of free movement is taken away from them, which leaves Palestinians with so much frustration that forming such groups is viewed by some as their only way of confronting what they perceive as their enemy. A new generation of Palestinian resistance is emerging and garnering support from both other Palestinians and Arabs in the wider Middle East through digital activism and other means, as witnessed during the Sheikh Jarrah uprising that took place back in May 2021. This new face of resistance will probably continue to grow as the youth of today strongly oppose normalization and have no faith in the Palestinian Authority (PA).
In the light of Israel’s raids and the Palestinian retaliations, the West Bank is in real danger of being more unstable than it has been in recent years, contributing to more violence and bloodshed for both Palestinians and Israelis. If international pressure is not applied to promote a resumption of a Middle East Peace Process, such tensions will only worsen.
