Tag

Nablus

Browsing

Palestinian youth and resistance fighters in Nablus continue to resist settler-colonial encroachment and pay the price for it. Two Palestinians died during recent clashes with the Israeli army near Joseph’s tomb, while a resistance fighter succumbed to wounds sustained last summer within the same 24 hours.

Members of the Lions' Den hold their weapons next to a flag flying the Lions' Den logo during a memorial service of Mohammed al-Azizi and Abdul Rahman Sobh who were killed by Israeli forces, in the West Bank city of Nablus on September 2, 2022. (Photo: Shadi Jarar'ah/ APA Images)

The Lions’ Den was relatively unknown outside of Nablus until a few months ago but today they have gained hero-like status across Palestine — for leading a revival of armed resistance against Israeli colonialism. This is their story.

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in a massive overnight Israeli raid on Nablus, October 25, 2022. Six Palestinians were killed and nearly 20 others injured. (Photo: Wajed Nobani/APA Images)

Welcome to the first in our new series, the West Bank Dispatch. This newsletter will cover the main developments you need to know about Palestinian resistance to Israeli settler-colonialism in the occupied West Bank. Each week we’ll bring you key developments, analysis from our Palestine news team, and insight into what Palestinians living under Israeli apartheid in the West Bank are reading and talking about.

Left: Ibrahim Nabulsi Right: a girl from the Old City of Nablus wearing a necklace of Nabulsi. (Photos: Shadi Jarar'ah/APA Images, and Mariam Barghouti/Mondoweiss)

On the day he would have turned 19, friends, family, and comrades gathered to remember and reflect on the life of the slain “Lion of Nablus.”

“Ibrahim al-Nabulsi is an idea,” B. a friend and comrade of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi said as he recalled the brutality of Al-Nabulsi’s assassination. “And ideas don’t die.”

Israeli settlers and soldiers during the attack on Huwwara on October 13, 2022. (Photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills)

Huwwara has been under near constant attack since Thursday afternoon, when groups of armed settlers began attacking several points in the town, primarily on the main road, vandalizing dozens of storefronts and vehicles. The settlers also burned olive trees, and attacked several homes, a local amusement park, and cafe on the outskirts of the town.

“What’s happening right now in Huwwara is terrifying, and it’s a sign of what’s to come in the rest of the West Bank as the settlers continue their violent rampages on Palestinian towns like ours,” Salamah Saleem, a local activist, told Mondoweiss.

We are currently seeing an unprecedented moment of Palestinian resistance across the West Bank. It’s too early to tell where events will lead — whether it’s the historic turning point or the last gasp of protest before something even worse — but what’s certain is that Palestinians are on the precipice of returning to a state of refusal, if not full-fledged resistance, to the settler-colonial reality some would have them ignore. The current moment will ultimately be decided by militant mass support and the expansion of resistance activity to the rest of the West Bank.