Ramallah, December 31 (RHC)-- Israeli forces have launched a fresh raid on the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, leaving 35 Palestinians, including a paramedic, wounded. The occupation forces launched the raid on Friday morning to arrest a Palestinian youth named Ahmed Mazri as they suspect he is a member of the new resistance group "Lions’ Den."
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, heavily armed Israeli forces surrounded a house and arrested the youth, triggering violent confrontations. The occupation forces opened fire on Palestinians, injuring 35 youths, said Ahmad Jibril, the head of the Emergency and Ambulance Department at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
According to Jibril, two Palestinians sustained live ammunition injuries while six others were wounded by shrapnel. One of those injured by live ammunition is a Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) paramedic who was hit in the back. Another Palestinian was hit in the chest by live ammunition, he said. All bullet and shrapnel casualties were evacuated to hospitals for treatment while the 25 tear-gas suffocation cases were treated at the scene.
Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the occupied West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what it calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.
The raids also take place in areas that are under the control of the Palestinian Authority as the Israeli forces use sweeping arbitrary powers to conduct the operations without any search warrant and whenever and wherever they choose.
Under Israeli military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.
Meanwhile, the Nablus Brigade, an affiliate of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters have targeted Israeli occupation forces with bullets and explosive devices, which resulted in casualties among occupation soldiers.
According to the statement, the fighters “ambushed a Zionist force in the vicinity of the Old City, and targeted it directly with a heavy barrage of bullets and explosive devices,” Al-Mayadeen reported.
The Israeli raids come amid a growing number of groups that are emerging to fight back against the occupation, including Lions’ Den. The Palestinian resistance group appeared in Nablus in 2022, and its formation was officially announced on September 2nd.
The group said it is resisting on behalf of all the Palestinian people despite their political affiliation and aims to revive the spirit of the resistance in the hearts of the Palestinians. The group of young men also assured it has a goal of changing the equation from staying underground to chasing the Israeli occupation forces.
The movement was founded to defend Palestinians and has been active in responding to the killing of Palestinians, including children, women and the elderly by the Israeli occupation forces and Israeli illegal settlers.
