A senior member of a loosely organized Palestinian terror group called the Lion’s Den was killed in an explosion in the West Bank city of Nablus early Sunday, with the group claiming that Israel “murdered” him.
Tamer Kilani, a leading member of the burgeoning organization – which has claimed near-night attacks on Israeli troops and civilians during a raid in Nablus – was killed around 1:30am when an IED attached to a motorcycle detonated in Nablus’s old city, according to the group and Palestinian media reports.
In a statement, Lion’s Den claimed that Israeli forces planted the bomb, although some reports suggested it may have been an accident. The group threatened a “painful reaction” and called on the public to attend Kilani’s funeral later on Sunday.
Video footage purportedly showing the blast circulated on social media, as did a clip purportedly showing an Israeli “collaborator” planting the bomb.
The Israel Defense Forces did not comment publicly on the explosion and death of the member.
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A defense official said Kilani, previously jailed in Israel, was directly involved in sending a Palestinian to carry out a “large-scale” attack in Tel Aviv last month, alongside several other shootings in the Nablus area.
The militant group Lions Den accused #Israel to murder one of their fighters by sticking an explosive device on a motorcycle parked off a road near the old city of Nablus by an alleged “Israeli collaborator”, video showed the explosion pic.twitter.com/J54gAgke73
— Rushdi Abualouf (@Rushdibbc) October 23, 2022
Tensions in the Nablus area have risen in recent weeks as the Israeli military erected a cordon around the Palestinian city to crack down on Lion’s Den.
#عاجل | عرين الأسود: “وحدة ا الت ل ل تنشر ل ل ل ل ل لid الذي وضع ا ا ا المُفخخ الا إ Q تر Kurz ر andko.” pic.twitter.com/Yiela0lWTX
— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) October 23, 2022
Lion’s Den has claimed responsibility for most of the shootings in the Nablus area since it was set up in August by members of various terrorist groups, including people formerly affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, among others.
An Israeli soldier was killed in an attack by the group and a second person was slightly injured in another attack on civilian vehicles. The other attacks were ineffective, but videos of the shootings uploaded to social media helped it quickly gain massive popularity on the Palestinian streets.
الشهيد ÖH ϕ اكيكي ق ق ا و وو غت غت اension فج فج فج فج فج فج فج ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ches فجفجفجفجفجفجفج فجفجفجفجفجفجفج فجفجفجفجفجفجفج Ologes ا فج فج فج فج فج ا ا ا ا Ologes. pic.twitter.com/TFM5o1o3Ul
— yaseenizeddeen (@yaseenizeddeen) October 23, 2022
The group, based in the old city of Nablus, is believed to have several dozen members, mostly young, secular males who, unlike other armed factions in the West Bank, eschew any proper hierarchy. Israeli officials have dubbed the group a “terror squad.”
While most other disorganized popular resistances consist of attacking troops conducting operations in Palestinian cities, Lion’s Den members don’t wait for troops to come to them, but instead go out of the old city of Nablus almost every night, engaging Israeli targets beforehand of the area manages to escape back unharmed almost every time.
Members of Lion’s Den are seen in Nablus in a picture released by the armed faction on September 3, 2022. (Courtesy; used under Section 27a of the Copyright Act)
On Friday, Palestinians protesting the closure of a locked city entrance near Huwara clashed with troops, hurled rocks and burned tires.
There have also been many incidents in the area of settler violence against Palestinians, left-wing activists and IDF soldiers.
Settlers who threw stones at Palestinians near Huwara early Thursday attacked soldiers trying to disperse them. Four soldiers were pepper sprayed during the clashes, which was widely condemned.
Two Israeli settlers, one of whom is also an IDF soldier, were arrested over the incident.
The Nablus area is home to a number of hardline settlements, whose residents often intimidate Palestinians and destroy their property. Settlers have also accused the military of not doing enough to protect them.
A Palestinian protester returns a tear gas canister amid clashes with Israeli security forces after a demonstration October 21, 2022 demanding the opening of roads around Nablus. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
An anti-terrorist offensive launched earlier this year, focused on the northern West Bank, has resulted in more than 2,000 arrests in near-night raids. It has also killed over 120 Palestinians, many – but not all – while conducting attacks or clashes with security forces.
In arrest raids in the West Bank early Sunday, the IDF said troops had detained nine wanted Palestinians.
The IDF’s counter-terrorist offensive in the West Bank was launched after a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 19 people earlier this year. Another Israeli was killed in a suspected attack last month and four soldiers were killed in attacks and during arrest operations in the West Bank.
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