A leading figure of the Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank says the new West Bank resistance Lions’ Den is uniting the resistance.
Faraan: The Lions’ Den (Areen al-Ossoud in Arabic) is demonstrating that resistance is more important than any single movement, said Khader Adnan, 44, who has been jailed several times. “These young men are not under the patronage of any faction. They are demonstrating that resistance is more important than any single movement,” he told AFP.
In light of the rise in the number of Palestinians killed in 2022 in the West Bank, which reached 155 as reported by the UN, Adnan said, “This could be the start of a new intifada.” The death toll is the heaviest in the West Bank in the past seven years and is also the second highest since the end of the second “intifada” or uprising of the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh commented on the rise of the resistance group, telling AFP that the fight would continue from “generation to generation, sacrifice to sacrifice,” saying Israel has intensified its occupation since 1967. The Nablus-based resistance group which seems to be reshaping the Palestinian resistance movement has sparked fear inside the Israeli regime.
The presence and activity of the group, described by Haaretz as a “major headache” for the Israeli regime, prompted Israeli officials to meet last Sunday. The top security meeting was attended by Prime Minister Yair Lapid, alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Minister of Military Affairs Benny Gantz, National Security Council Chairman Eyal Hulata, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, and Military Intelligence Chief Aharon Haliva, according to Israeli media reports. The Palestinian resistance group appeared in Nablus in 2022, and its formation was officially announced on September 2.
