ISL, the section of the RCIT in Israel/ Occupied Palestine, 27.9
23 old Saed al-Kuni, the Palestinian fighter that was shot dead by IDF soldiers last week, was the fifth member of the Lions’ Den armed group to be killed in the past few weeks by Zionist apartheid state terror.
The Lions’ Den, which is based in the Old City of Nablus, was founded by 25-year-old Mohammed al-Azizi, nicknamed Abu Saleh, who was killed during an armed clash with IDF soldiers last July together with his 28-year-old friend, Abdel Rahman Suboh, who was also known as Abu Adam.
Shortly before he was killed, Suboh filed a request with the local Islamic religious court to separate from his fiancé, saying he did not want her to be heartbroken because he expected to be “martyred”.
Israel and other imperialist states call the Palestinians, who fight against the Zionist armed forces and the settlers who steal Palestinian lands in continuation of the land theft of 1948 and the ethnic cleansing of 75% of the Palestinians, terrorists that must be killed.
The same was the case of the South African apartheid that the Western imperialists supported until almost its last days.
In the real word Israel is the war criminal. In accordance with international humanitarian law, wars of national liberation have been expressly embraced, through the adoption of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 as a protected and essential right of occupied people everywhere. The 1974, resolution 3314 of the UNGA prohibited states from “any military occupation, however temporary”.
In relevant part, the resolution not only went on to affirm the right “to self-determination, freedom and independence […] of peoples forcibly deprived of that right,[…] particularly peoples under colonial and racist regimes or other forms of alien domination” but noted the right of the occupied to “struggle … and to seek and receive support” in that effort” (1)
In addition the UN resolution number 45/130 states:
“Recalling the Political Declaration adopted by the first Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity and the League of Arab States, held at Cairo from 7 to 9 March 1977,
Recalling also the Geneva Declaration on Palestine and the Programme of Action for the Achievement of Palestinian Rights, adopted by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine,
Considering that the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, sovereignty, independence and return to Palestine and the brutal suppression by the Israeli forces of the heroic uprising, the intifadah, of the Palestinian population in the occupied territories, as well as the repeated Israeli aggression against the population of the region, constitute a serious threat to international peace and security” (2)
The group Lion’s den became famous for publishing statements on social media platforms calling on its gunmen to continue the fight against Israel. The group has also become famous for posting videos of its shooting attacks on soldiers and settlers.
Some Palestinians said that al-Kuni was affiliated with Fatah’s armed wing, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. No one knows exactly how many young men have joined the Lions’ Den. It’s also not clear who funds the group. According to the Palestinian Authority the group has less than 100 gunmen from several Palestinian factions. “These young men have formed a militia that believes in the armed struggle,” said the source. “It’s possible that some factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, give them money to buy weapone” (3)
The Lions’ Den is a unique group because its members are all in their 20s and belong to the post-Second Intifada generation of Palestinians. Thus they are not afraid from Israel. In addition it is the first organized armed group that consists of gunmen belonging to a number of Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). A clear form of an anti-imperialist united front.
Last week, Palestinian sources revealed that senior Hamas operative Musab Shtayyeh, who was recently arrested by the Palestinian Authority security forces, was also a member of the Lions’ Den. His arrest triggered fierce clashes between Palestinian protesters and PA security forces in Nablus.
And while these courageous fighters fight the oppression, the cynical hypocrite traitor Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the Zionist war Minister Benny Gantz to congratulate him on the Jewish New Year, the PA news agency WAFA reported.
“During their call, Gantz noted the importance of maintaining security and public order in the West Bank during the holiday, according to Army Radio, and stressed the Palestinian Authority’s responsibility in that regard.Reports also indicated that Gantz and Abbas discussed continued cooperation between the Israeli military and Palestinian Authority security forces.It comes following months of rising tension in the West Bank and amid several violent clashes in recent days between Palestinians and police in East Jerusalem and in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount” (4)
Three days ago, in the United Nations General Assembly Abbas denounced Israel for operating an “apartheid” regime and giving its military “total freedom” to kill Palestinians. These were empty words of a professional liar that must be removed.
In a direct challenge to the PA, the Lions’ Den called for “civil disobedience” until the release of Shtayyeh, who remains in a Palestinian prison in Jericho on charges of illegal possession of a weapon.
Since then, three more Lions’ Den gunmen have been killed by the Zionist gangs in uniform: Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, Islam Sabooh and Saed al-Kuni. However Support for Lions’ Den is growing in Nablus. A mass rally in memory of al-Azizi and Suboh earlier this month in the Old City of Nablus turned into an unprecedented show of force for members of the Lions’ Den. Dozens of gunmen dressed in black uniforms and carrying M-16 rifles showed up at the rally, which was also attended by Palestinian activists from Jenin. Some of the gunmen, whose identity is already known to the Israeli security forces, appeared without masks covering their faces.
Down with the Zionist apartheid state!
Down with.the traitor Mahmoud Abbas!
For a Palestine red and free from the river to the sea!
Endnotes:
(1) https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/7/20/palestinians-have-a-legal-right-to-armed-struggle
(2) https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-184801/
(3) https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-718244
(4) https://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-calls-gantz-with-holiday-greeting-discusses-west-bank-security