The US State Department announced on Thursday that it has sanctioned the West Bank-based Palestinian militant group Lion’s Den in response to its involvement in a series of violent incidents over the past two years.
Lion’s Den, operating out of the city of Nablus, has been implicated in numerous violent attacks targeting Israeli settlements as well as Israeli and Palestinian security forces between September 2022 and April 2024.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasized the US’s stance against violence in the West Bank, stating, “The United States condemns any and all acts of violence committed in the West Bank, whoever the perpetrators.” Miller further asserted that the US would “use the tools at our disposal to expose and hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability there.”
This move to sanction the Palestinian group comes in the wake of recent US and European sanctions imposed on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a region under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The escalation in violence has led to significant casualties. According to a United Nations report earlier this week, at least 505 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli military actions, other security forces, and West Bank settlers since the outbreak of the Gaza war nearly eight months ago.
Additionally, two dozen Israelis, including eight soldiers, have lost their lives in West Bank clashes or alleged attacks by Palestinians from the territory during the same period.
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