Islamic Jihad leader: If Israel assassinates this figure, it will be a third intifada in the West Bank

Israeli drones have been flying over the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank without interruption for weeks, while the Israeli occupation soldiers are closing the city's entrances.

Since the escalation of confrontations between the Palestinians and the occupation army in the northern West Bank in the past months, some are talking about signs of a "new intifada" looming on the horizon.

In the old city of Nablus, between olive oil soap shops and sweets shops, Palestinian youths on motorcycles ride in the clothes of the new heroes, “The Lion’s Den” and the pictures of the leader of this group, Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, who was martyred in a violent confrontation with the occupation forces last August, after he He sent a message to his comrades in the path of struggle not to lay down their arms.

Nicknamed "The Lion of Nablus" and a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades of Fatah, Nabulsi has been inspiring the spirit of enthusiasm and revolution in the local youth for months with his strong speech against the Israeli occupation, and the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas, which he accuses of "cooperating" with Israel.

After his martyrdom, young fighters who belonged to various factions such as Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas formed the "Lion's Den" group, which has gained great popularity since the announcement of its establishment, and the encrypted Telegram messages in the occupied Palestinian territories became a means of communicating with its popular incubator.

A young man who calls himself Abu Uday says that he joined "The Lions' Den" because "the group that chose to resist the occupation with weapons away from all factions, and belonging to God and the homeland is its most important priority."

He adds that its goal is "one to resist the armed occupation in all its areas," adding, "We are a group whose members are relatively few, and they are on the Israeli assassination list. Continuing depends on who joins us and the way things are managed in the coming days."

Last week, the "Lions' Den" group called for nightly demonstrations throughout the West Bank through its Telegram channel, which is followed by nearly 180,000 accounts, and Palestinians in different areas of the West Bank responded to the call to demonstrate, which led to renewed confrontations with the occupation forces.

vow of confrontation

Tensions have escalated in recent months in the northern West Bank, especially in the areas of Nablus and Jenin, which are strongholds of Palestinian factions, and the occupation forces intensified their raids in the wake of attacks against Israelis in March and April by Palestinians, some of them from the inside.

The raids and clashes resulted in the death of more than 115 Palestinians, the largest number of martyrs in the West Bank in 7 years, and the second highest rate since the end of the second intifada that erupted on September 28, 2000 after the 1987-1993 intifada that followed the Oslo Accords.

The leader of the Islamic Jihad movement in the northern West Bank, Khader Adnan, who was arrested by the occupation several times, said, "This may be the beginning of an intifada. The lions' den unites the resistance. These young people are not under the auspices of a particular organization, for them the resistance is more important than any particular movement."

While Abu Mustafa al-Munadel sees in the first intifada, that although "the young generation has no hope, no work, no horizon and lives under occupation", it is very difficult "for there to be a third intifada, as this requires an agreement between the factions."

He is opposed by Khader Adnan, who believes that "if the protests are concentrated in the northern West Bank, they may spread throughout the region," explaining that "for example, if the Israeli forces assassinate Fathi Khazem, who is more than a hero and is a real symbol, there will be an uprising. perfect".

relative calm

Fathi Khazem became one of the most wanted Palestinians by the Israeli occupation. He is the father of Raad Khazem, who carried out the Dizengoff operation in Tel Aviv and killed 3 Israelis last April.

Raad was shot dead by the Israeli police after a chase that lasted for several hours.

Fathi's second son was also martyred in an incursion of the occupation forces into Jenin refugee camp, during which a missile was fired at his house, which led to its demolition.

Fathi Khazem appears from time to time surrounded by dozens of masked fighters armed with M16 machine guns.

In an attempt to calm the Palestinian public's anger and prevent the West Bank from igniting, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh made a rare visit to Jenin camp a few days ago and was keen to appear alongside Fathi Khazem and Palestinian resistance fighters.

He sought to identify with the discourse of resistance, which has become the dominant discourse in the West Bank, saying, "The blood of the martyrs will not be in vain, and the darkness of prisons for which our prisoners are paid will not be in vain, and this struggle is a cumulative process. Generation staking after generation and sacrifices behind sacrifices," stressing that "Jenin National unity has been established on the ground.

The United Nations mediator for the Middle East, Tor Wencesland, also visited the cities of Nablus and Jenin to try to ease the escalating tension there after it had been quiet for several years.

Wencesland said that since the last war on Gaza in 2021, Hamas "wants Gaza to remain relatively calm while allowing some dynamic to emerge in the West Bank," stressing that the priority should be to calm the situation and curb the activities of extremist settlers.