IDF raids send at least four Lion’s Den terrorists scampering to the Palestinian Authority for protection against Israeli reprisals.
By United with Israel Staff
After an upstart Palestinian terror group called “Lion’s Den” launched a series of deadly attacks on Israelis, the IDF clamped down, allegedly assassinating a top commander and eliminating a number of other operatives during raids.
On Thursday, the Israeli media reported that at least four members of the terror group had turned themselves in to the Palestinian Authority.
The development appeared in local Palestinian media stories reporting that one of the four terrorists who surrendered was Mahmoud al-Bana, a leading Lion’s Den member wounded during an IDF raid on Tuesday.
“During the Tuesday raid, Israeli troops killed the apparent leader of the group and four other gunmen, and destroyed a bomb factory,” reported the Times of Israel. “On Wednesday, another three members were arrested by Israeli troops. Earlier this week, another prominent member was killed in an explosion attributed to Israel.”
The Times report added, “Lion’s Den has claimed near-nightly attacks on troops and Israeli civilians in the [Shechem] area in recent months.”
The terror group itself appeared to disavow the four “cowardly” lions, issuing a confusingly worded statement that said: “The Lion’s Den group has not asked any official or security body, no matter how respectable, to hand over our fighters [to them], and whoever surrenders himself, this is their decision and choice.”
In response to a terror wave that claimed the lives of 19 Israelis since the beginning of the year, the IDF launched an anti-terror campaign called Operation Wave Breaker that has resulted 2,000 arrests, nightly raids on Palestinian terror strongholds, and the deaths of scores of terrorists, many of whom were eliminated during acts of terror or armed clashes with law enforcement.