A new type of Palestinian militia is emerging

Even by the violent standards of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the night of February 26th was unprecedented. Hundreds of Israeli settlers rampaged through Hawara, a Palestinian town of 7,000 south of Nablus in the West Bank. They were enraged by the shooting dead of two brothers in Hawara earlier that day. For hours they set fire to houses and cars. One Palestinian was killed by gunfire (whose is unclear). For the most part the Israeli army stood by and watched. “They did fire tear-gas at Palestinians who were trying to come and help,” said one Palestinian, surveying the blackened front of his home.The gunman, so far unidentified, who killed the settlers is thought to have links to Lions’ Den, a new armed Palestinian group based in Nablus. It emerged in the aftermath of Israeli raids around the city last year, notably one in which Israeli forces killed Ibrahim Nabulsi, an 18-year-old who had led a then-unnamed group in a series of drive-by shootings at Israeli targets. Lions’ Den has since claimed dozens of attacks in the West Bank, including the killing of an Israeli soldier in October. Support for it is growing. Posters of members killed by Israel plaster the market in Nablus. West Bank shops sell pendants adorned with Nabulsi’s face. The group stands for a new kind of Palestinian militancy.