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Operation Break the Wave

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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.

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.”

Udai Tamimi, the Palestinian resistance fighter responsible for killing an Israeli soldier at Shu’fat military checkpoint, conducted yet another shooting operation against Israeli troops before being shot and killed at the entrance of the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, after ten days on the run and evading capture by Israeli forces.

The West Bank and Jerusalem are “on fire.” 

It’s a term we’re seeing used more and more across social media, the news, and opinion pieces talking about the current events in the occupied Palestinian territory. But what exactly is unfolding in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem right now, and why? What makes it different from what we’ve seen in recent history, and what does it mean for the future of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation and settler-colonialism?

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.