Israeli Army Kills Six Palestinians in Deadliest West Bank Raid of the Year | International

The Israeli army has carried out several incursions this morning into the occupied territory of the West Bank in which it has killed six Palestinians, including Wadea al Huh, leader of La Guarida de los Leones, the new militia of the city of Nablus turned into his main headache. In the largest raid, in the Kasbah of Nablus, five Palestinians were killed, more than 20 wounded and Israeli forces detonated a cache for making explosives. Israeli soldiers also killed a teenager in Nabi Saleh, a town north of Ramallah where they were greeted with stones by local youths, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The day, just seven days before the elections in Israel, shows the deterioration of the situation in the West Bank, where so far this month, a Palestinian dies on average every day by Israeli fire. So have two Israeli soldiers. The number of Palestinian fatalities in 2022 (more than 120) is unprecedented since 2015 and is already almost the highest since the Second Intifada (2000-2005).

During the operation in Nablus, in which an elite anti-terrorist force participated, “dozens of Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at the troops, who responded by shooting at the armed suspects who were shooting at them,” the Israeli army said in a statement. . “Multiple armed suspects were hit,” he added. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has confirmed to Kaan public radio that one of them is Al Huh. “They have to know that we will reach them wherever they are. Israel will never stop acting for its security and we will do what needs to be done in order to reduce terrorism and make sure Israeli citizens are not touched,” he said. Palestinian media point out that the militiaman perished in the shooting that was triggered when the Israeli troops surrounded his house.

Of the 21 Palestinians injured, four are in critical condition, according to Palestinian medical sources. No Israeli soldiers were injured in the clashes. Videos of clashes between Palestinians and the army at the entrance of military vehicles in Nablus can be seen on social networks. The soldiers detonated an apartment that served as a hiding place for the preparation of explosives and was used by the main militants of La Guarida de los Leones (Arín al Usud, in Arabic), the note indicates.

The coordination committee of the Palestinian factions in Nablus has declared a “day of rage” and called a general strike. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also made “urgent contacts to stop the aggression,” his spokeswoman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said in a statement.

The Lions’ Den, whose popularity has grown in recent months thanks to the spread of its operations on TikTok and Telegram, is a newly created armed group that exemplifies the decentralized and local structure favored by the new generation of Palestinian fighters. It has about a hundred members, who mainly repel Israeli army incursions into Nablus or launch surprise attacks against soldiers and settlers. He is responsible, among others, for the death of an Israeli sergeant in an attack against a border post, on the 11th; of an attempted attack in Tel Aviv, and of the placement of an explosive in a gas station (which was removed), says the Israeli military statement.

One of its main members, Tamer al Kilani, 33, died early on Monday from the explosion of his motorcycle, a very popular means of transport among militiamen for the ease of movement it confers. The armed group accuses Israel, which remains silent, and points out that a Palestinian collaborator activated an explosive attached to the vehicle by remote control. The modus operandi – similar to similar “targeted killings” attributed to the Israeli secret services – had been absent from the West Bank for almost two decades. If confirmed, it would mean his return from the Second Intifada. Yossi Yehoshua, correspondent for military affairs of the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonoth, has interpreted the operation as proof of the country’s weakness. “A decision of this kind does not indicate that Israel has obtained a high degree of deterrence, rather the opposite. It greatly magnifies this small organization [La Guarida de los Leones] when greater Israel avoids taking responsibility and uses a method it used in the past to kill front-line terrorists.”

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