The US State Department has sanctioned the West Bank-based Palestinian militant group, Lion’s Den, for its involvement in a series of violent incidents over the past two years.
Operating out of Nablus, the group has been linked to numerous attacks on Israeli settlements and both Israeli and Palestinian security forces from September 2022 to April this year.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “The United States condemns any and all acts of violence committed in the West Bank, whoever the perpetrators.” He emphasized that the US would “use the tools at our disposal to expose and hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability there.”
This move comes on the heels of recent US and European sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
The United Nations reported earlier this week that at least 505 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli military, other security forces, and settlers since the Gaza war began nearly eight months ago. In the same period, around two dozen Israelis, including eight soldiers, have been killed in clashes or alleged attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank.
