With the continuation of Israeli operations against the resistance brigades and the martyrdom of dozens of its members, the role of “lone wolves” emerged (Al Jazeera)

Ramallah -

While the numbers indicate a decline in Palestinian resistance operations in recent months, whether armed or popular, another “type” of them has begun to increase, taking the resistance into a new direction with greater effectiveness, according to experts.

In the last two years, attention has been directed to the camps in the northern West Bank, where the armed brigades appear openly in Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm, and the occupation met them with raids, destruction, and sabotage.

The destruction and killing that took place in the northern West Bank prompted once again a type of resistance that has long been a more subtle source for the occupation, namely “lone wolves,” as the occupation cannot estimate the persons, place, time, and goal of these operations.

#Urgent | Al-Qassam Brigades, West Bank: Our mujahideen carried out shooting operations targeting enemy crowds and new sites in the northern and central Bank #Gaza_War pic.twitter.com/wxWOodJdHB

- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) March 22, 2024

In numbers

According to statistics from the Palestinian Information Center "Ma'ta", the year 2023 witnessed about 3,260 "specific" resistance actions in the West Bank and Jerusalem, including bombings, shootings, and clashes, which led in total to the death of 43 Israelis and the injury of more than 507 others.

However, the Center’s documentation indicates a noticeable decline in Palestinian resistance activities in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, although they continue with varying differences between the governorates.

According to the documentation of “Ma’ta” - a non-governmental body - last January witnessed 226 “specific” resistance actions, including 60 shooting operations against Israeli targets and 60 armed clashes, in addition to 312 popular events and demonstrations.

These numbers declined during last February, as 137 “specific” acts of resistance were recorded, including 43 shooting operations, 34 armed clashes, and 275 demonstrations and popular events.

While there is no data available for last December, data for November indicate that 275 shooting operations and 135 throwing of explosive devices were recorded.

In their reading of these numbers, experts spoke to Al Jazeera Net about the reasons for the decline in guerrilla operations in conjunction with the absence of popular resistance, which is embraced by the Palestinian official level, and the Palestinian National Liberation Movement “Fatah,” which leads the Authority in the West Bank.

Sheikh “Mahmoud Nofal,” the imam of Al-Qasim Mosque in Hebron and a memorizer of the Book of God... He came fasting, clashing, and struggling, coming forward without retreating.

These are our sheikhs and the crowns of our heads.. This is the purpose of the Qur’an, the goal of knowledge, and the ultimate of Sufism, all gathered in one scene.. Not a lot of turbans on men, and heads on goats, with whom God has tested us... pic.twitter.com/013fcID3Hn

- Ismail Arafa (@ismailarafa9) March 16, 2024

Influential alternatives

Retired Major General Youssef Al-Sharqawi says, “The main organization that can carry out activities in the West Bank is the Fatah movement, but it adheres to absolute silence, and even its leaders refrain from appearing in the media, and this may be by a leadership decision.”

He added, "There is no even a short pause or peaceful sit-in in the city center or in a public square to denounce the occupation's massacres."

Regarding the impact of the occupation’s escalation of its operations in the West Bank since last October 7, which led to the death of 450 Palestinians, the injury of about 750, and the arrest of approximately 7,800, Al-Sharqawi said that the occupation’s operations will lead to results that he does not want.

He added, "Tonight's raids on the camps will bring back the presence of lone wolves, which is what the occupation fears more than organized formations, because this type of operation is carried out by an individual at the time, place, and form he wants without having any organizational connections."

He added that Israel accommodates the "show" action to some extent, and deals with it with incursions, raids, night operations in the camps, and sabotage of roads and infrastructure, but it takes more account of the lone wolves that spread in the period before the Al-Aqsa flood.

Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi: The lone wolves will be unleashed, and it may lead to a third intifada in the West Bank. The second intifada may not be at its level #Gaza_War #Gaza_What_Next? pic.twitter.com/GL7EE6MmFC

- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) February 23, 2024

The last of the lone wolves

In reference to what Al-Sharqawi spoke about, the last week witnessed 3 specific operations within what are called “lone wolves,” most notably the operation of the martyr Mujahid Barakat Mansour, west of Ramallah, on Friday, which led to the injury of 7 Israeli soldiers, one of whom was later killed.

Before that, on March 20, the Etzion operation took place between Hebron and Bethlehem, for the martyr Ziad Farhan Hamran from Jenin, in which two Israeli intelligence officers were shot.

They were preceded on March 16 by a shooting attack in Hebron, carried out by the martyr Sheikh Mahmoud Nofal - the imam of a mosque - targeting a settlement outpost in the center of the city, without the occupation announcing any casualties.

They were all preceded on February 16 by the martyr Fadi Jamjoum (40 years old) from Jerusalem, who opened fire at a bus stop in the Kiryat “Malachi” settlement, killing two and wounding four.

In general, their operations were individual and without any indication of any organizational structures or connections behind the implementation of their operations.

Issa Amr attributes the absence of resistance action to the role of the security services in aborting popular action (Al Jazeera)

Between the military and the popular

For his part, anti-settlement activist Issa Amr says that the state of silence experienced by most West Bank governorates in general regarding the massacres taking place in Gaza is “unnatural,” indicating “a state of abortion for most resistance and popular work.”

Amr does not believe that the resistance military action, even if it is declining, is what led to the decline of popular action.

He continued that popular action is not limited to confrontations, "but there is no strengthening of the steadfastness of families. There is no role for Palestinian institutions and PLO institutions, nor for chambers of commerce or municipalities, nor for national and Islamic forces."

Amr attributed the absence of resistance action in all its forms to "the role of the security services in aborting popular action, and the widespread administrative arrests launched by the occupation against activists."

He added that the closure of universities and schools, the prevention of gatherings by the Palestinian Authority, and the Israeli policy of killing demonstrators, all of this led to the silence prevailing in the West Bank and the absence of protest against what is happening in Gaza.

He believed that the absence of leadership representing the street, the corruption of influential leaders, and the absence of any horizon for eliminating corruption in the next government do not indicate a change in the status quo in the West Bank.

Khaled Mansour believes that popular resistance is currently focused on activities to support prisoners (Al Jazeera)

Where is the popular resistance?

In his answer to this question, the leader of the People’s Party and the prominent activist in popular activities, Khaled Mansour, says that popular resistance exists, but is declining, and is currently concentrated in activities to support prisoners, “and unfortunately the numbers of participants are small.”

He explains the decline of popular activities in points of friction, marches, and military resistance by saying, “Some people think that resistance is either popular or armed, and do not believe in combining the two. This is a mistake because each form has its audience, and one form should not replace the other.”

Among other reasons, Mansour adds, "terrorism, Israeli violence, night raids, assassinations, settler violence, and the arrests of nearly 8,000 activists and influencers."

He also pointed to "the dismemberment of the regions, and the placement of Israeli gates and barriers between them, in addition to the expected position on the political organizations, instead of their role being further strengthened."

Source: Al Jazeera