Inside the Lions’ Den: Will Palestinian Resistance Keep Growing?

By Zena Al Tahhan | Al Jazeera

Traces of blood still stain the floor of Wadee al-Hawah’s home in the Yasmineh quarter deep inside the Old City of Nablus in the ‘Israeli’-occupied West Bank.

Dozens of bullets, shrapnel from projectiles, and remnants of several armed drones that exploded were scattered among piles of rubble and wrecked furniture.

Everything except the 150-year-old stone walls of the house was destroyed in ‘Israel’s’ attack on the house on October 25.

‘Israeli’ forces launched a large-scale raid on Nablus that night – the biggest in recent weeks – killing five Palestinian men, including three who were members of the Lions’ Den Palestinian armed resistance group.

The faces of the five men killed on October 25 have been plastered across the cobblestone alleyways of the Old City.

The group’s most senior commander, 31-year-old Wadee al-Hawah, was assassinated in his home. Several other fighters were inside the house during the hours-long attack, including Mishal Baghdadi, aged 27, who was also killed.

Sitting in her apartment among a group of female family members, neighbors and friends, all donned in black, 33-year-old Sabreen al-Hawah is filled with what she says is pride and sadness over her slain brother.

“Wadee was a lion in every meaning of the word,” she told Al Jazeera in her home five days after the killings. “He died a dignified death and did not back down on any of his principles.”

Sabreen said while she knew her brother was a fighter and was wanted, he did not tell her anything else: “We only recently found out that he would go out shooting at checkpoints, that he would publish all the statements by the Lions’ Den. The men would gather in his house.”

‘Sending a message’

Al-Hawah’s killing is the latest in a series of ‘Israeli’ attacks targeting Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank since June 2021.

In March 2022, following a string of operations by Palestinians that killed 19 people in the ‘Israeli’-occupied territories, the ‘Israeli’ army launched an attack it calls Break the Wave, through which it is attempting to crush a phenomenon of growing armed resistance, particularly in Nablus and Jenin, by carrying out near-daily raids, killings and arrests in the two northern West Bank cities.

‘Israel’s’ three-day assault on the blockaded Gaza Strip in August, in which at least 49 Palestinians, including 17 children, were killed, was also conducted as part of that campaign.

The emergence of the Lions’ Den comes as public support for armed resistance increases among Palestinians. It is not the first new armed group to emerge: In September 2021, the Jenin Brigades, affiliated mostly with the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad [PIJ], announced itself. In May 2022, a similar group also affiliated with the PIJ – the Nablus Brigades – was formed.

While its roots go back to February 2022, the Lions’ Den formally emerged in September.

“We are a group and not an organization. Anyone who wants to resist the occupation is welcome,” one fighter told Al Jazeera in the old city of Nablus, adding that members use rifles they acquired on their own and not in an organized or funded manner.

“It’s about sending a message [to ‘Israel’], that we will not sit idly by,” he said. “We know we can’t liberate Palestine now, but we will leave this to the next generation.”

The effect of these groups has been evident from the sharp increase in shooting operations at checkpoints, and killings of ‘Israeli’ soldiers and settlers over the past two months. The Lions’ Den has since taken the responsibility for several shootings.

The group has gained support in the past few months. Thousands have turned up for the funerals of dead fighters, and demands made to the public by the Lions’ Den have led to general strikes and protests.

Future of resistance

On October 23, days before the killing of the five men in Nablus and just a few meters away from Wadee al-Hawah’s home, Palestinians accuse ‘Israel’ of killing Tamer Kilani, a commander in the Lions’ Den. A bomb planted on a motorcycle detonated as he walked by.

The killing of Wadee al-Hawah, Tamer Kilani and others before them has represented a blow to Lions’ Den, but, despite ‘Israeli’ and PA pressure, new groups are emerging.

Last week, the Balata Brigades, an armed group that grew out of the refugee camp in Nablus city, announced itself to the public. Armed operations have also spread to the cities of al-Quds and al-Khalil.