Israeli security forces killed a member of the Iranian-backed Lions’ Den terrorist coalition and arrested a second operative during a counter-terrorism operation in the heart of Nablus (Shechem) on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces announced in a statement.
The joint operation of the IDF’s Samaria Brigade and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) came after precise intelligence was uncovered by the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet, the army said.
According to security officials, the slain terrorist had been involved in carrying out past attacks, acquiring weapons and planning future assaults targeting Israeli soldiers and civilians.
Undercover troops arrived in Nablus for an arrest raid but “identified him as being armed and posing a threat to the force,” the IDF said.
Soldiers found a handgun, two magazines and cash suspected to be intended for terrorist use in his possession. A tactical vest was also discovered in the terrorist’s vehicle, according to the statement.
A second high-level wanted man, who was with the terrorist at the time of his death, was apprehended and transferred for interrogation by security agencies.
The IDF noted that the raid was met with violent riots, including gunfire and explosives thrown at the troops, who responded with live fire. The army “identified a hit;” no injuries were reported among troops.
The Nablus-based Lions’ Den was the focus of much of the IDF activity in Samaria before the Hamas-led terrorist massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
On April 8, the Israel Police’s Unit 33 (“Gideonim”) elite intelligence-led undercover unit detained Mahmoud al-Bana, a top commander in the Lions’ Den.
Al-Bana, who was carrying an M16 rifle and a grenade, tried to evade arrest and was shot in his leg by police, according to security officials.
The military launched “Operation Iron Wall” on Jan. 21 to neutralize the threat posed by terrorist hotbeds such as Nablus. The ongoing counter-terrorism operations mark a change in Jerusalem’s security strategy in Samaria, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
IDF soldiers will remain in Palestinian areas throughout Samaria after the completion of “Operation Iron Wall” to ensure that the situation “will not return to what it was,” Katz stressed in Jan. 29 comments.
The IDF has intensified its raids in the area following the Feb. 20 failed bus bombings near Tel Aviv. Three empty buses exploded, and bombs were found on two others in a coordinated terrorist attack. At least one of the bombs reportedly bore a note, in Arabic and Hebrew, which stated: “Revenge from the Tulkarem refugee camp.”
Jerusalem is aware that a “more intense front” could open in Judea and Samaria amid the expansion of fighting with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on March 19.