Six Palestinians were killed and 20 injured in Israeli predawn raids on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank as the army targeted an emerging group, and thousands later massed for the funerals of the alleged militants.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said five people were killed in Nablus in the northern West Bank, where Israel confirmed an overnight operation targeted the Lions’ Den, a new group it blames for multiple recent attacks.
Another Palestinian died from a gunshot wound to the chest during overnight clashes with Israeli forces in Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah.
The victims have been named as Wadih Al-Hawah, 31, a senior leader of the Nablus-based Lions’ Den group; Hamdi Sharaf, 35; Ali Antar, 26; Hamdi Qayyim, 30; Mishaal Zahi Baghdadi, 27; and Qusai Al-Tamimi in Ramallah.
The Israel Defense Forces stormed Nablus an hour after midnight and targeted an apartment in the Kasbah neighborhood.
The Palestinian security forces patrolling the city spotted the Israeli undercover agents moving toward the militant group’s headquarters, and a clash took place that alerted dozens of group members who joined the fight against the Israeli force and foiled its mission.
Mosque loudspeakers blared messages around 2 a.m. in West Bank cities urging Palestinians to go out and support their people in Nablus.
Thousands of citizens attended a mass funeral for the victims at noon on Tuesday in Nablus amid unprecedented outrage, angry slogans and chants.
Demonstrators called on the international community to protect the Palestinian people from the crimes of the Israeli occupation forces.
Bullets were fired into the air and the Lions’ Den threatened the Israeli military with a violent response.
Hundreds participated in the funeral of Al-Tamimi in the village of Nabi Saleh, northwest of Ramallah.
A protest strike was observed in the cities of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in response to a call by President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement to condemn the ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinians.
Abbas is making “urgent contacts in order to stop this aggression against our people” in Nablus, his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah said in a statement.
Khaled Al-Batsh, a leader in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, urged “confrontation” with Israel on all “fronts.”
Notably, a high number of Palestinian casualties are taking place a week before the Israeli elections, and a majority of Palestinians firmly believe that this is because candidates want to look tough on Palestinians to get maximum votes.
The Israeli army declared a state of high alert before the elections, fearing a response to the deadly raid.
Israeli security sources said the number of warnings for attacks in the West Bank and Israeli areas is increasing.
Meanwhile, international diplomats in the West Bank have expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation in the area during the past two weeks.
Taysir Nasrallah, a Fatah leader who attended the funerals, told Arab News: “The participation of thousands of citizens in the funerals of the martyrs of Nablus sends out a strong message about the Palestinian people’s support for the resistance against the Israeli occupation.”
The more Israeli pressure increases on the Palestinians, the more their resistance increases, he said.
“Israel does not want to understand that its use of violence against the Palestinians will not benefit it, and that no force, either Israel or the Palestinian Authority, can stand against the desire of the Palestinian masses.
“The youths of the resistance do not fear the Israeli army with all its weapons and technology. Rather, they call for revenge for the killing of their compatriots by the Israelis,” Nasrallah told Arab News.
“They stormed after midnight on Tuesday to kill one wanted man, and they ended up killing five. Four of them were not the target of the Israeli operation,” he added.
“The Israelis must understand that the Palestinian people reject the occupation, and we are prepared for a comprehensive and long-armed confrontation with Israel,” Nasrallah said.
The IDF has killed 129 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of this year, most of them non-armed.
