US announces sanctions against largely dormant Lion’s Den West Bank terror group

The US State Department has for the first time announced sanctions against the Lion’s Den terror group that was established over two years ago in the northern West Bank.

“The United States condemns any and all acts of violence committed in the West Bank, whoever the perpetrators, and we will use the tools at our disposal to expose and hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability there,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement.

The Lion’s Den — or Areen al-Ossud in Arabic — emerged in late 2022 in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank as violence surged in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and carried out a number of terror attacks. It has been largely dormant over the past year, and has not claimed responsibility for an attack since mid-2023.

In October 2022, Lion’s Den claimed responsibility for several drive-by shootings in the Nablus area. Lion’s Den members opened fire at Israeli vehicles driving close to the nearby settlement of Elon Moreh, injuring a taxi driver and damaging vehicles. In a separate attack, numerous shots were fired toward the West Bank settlement of Har Bracha, the State Department says.

In September 2022, Lion’s Den fighters injured and killed Palestinian civilians during clashes between Palestinian fighters and Palestinian Authority Security Forces in Nablus, the US announcement adds.

The US State Department announcement also cites April 2024 Palestinian media reports of Lion’s Den fighters targeting Israeli forces with small arms at an Israeli checkpoint in Nablus. However, these reports were never confirmed, the group never claimed responsibility for that attack and it could well have been perpetrated by Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters.