Lion’s Den made use of a video-sharing website to distribute propaganda and show footage of attacks. The TikTok video-sharing platform banned an account belonging to an armed Palestinian group that has been responsible for numerous shooting attacks against Israeli forces and civilians in the northern West Bank in recent months. Israel said to request that the platform removes the faction’s user as well. (TikTok bans account of Palestinian armed group)
The account, which belonged to the group that goes by the name “Lion’s Den,” was taken down because it broke the community rules for the platform.
Israeli requests prompted TikTok’s decision to ban the account, according to reports in Hebrew-language media.
Members of a variety of terrorist organizations recently formed the organization, which has its headquarters in Nablus. It appears that some of its members were previously associated, among other groups, with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Lion’s Den had spread its ideology by posting videos of its members carrying out shooting attacks on its TikTok account.
In the midst of rising tensions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz instructed law enforcement officials earlier this week to concentrate their efforts on combating incitement on social media.
On the Telegram messaging service, Lion’s Den continues to have a large following despite the fact that it is believed to have several dozen members who do not appear to be in any sort of hierarchy.
In recent months, it has claimed responsibility for numerous shooting attacks in the Nablus region, including one on Tuesday that resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier.
Lion’s Den is associated with wanted Palestinian gunman Ibrahim Nabulsi, who was killed in an August Israeli raid in Nablus.
Israeli forces have since killed a few more members of the group.
Since a series of terror attacks against Israelis in the spring that resulted in the deaths of 19 people, tensions have risen significantly in the West Bank, with Israeli forces intensifying arrest raids and other counterterror efforts there.
Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted Israeli settlements, civilians on the roads, military posts, and troops working along the West Bank security barrier in recent months.
One person was wounded when Hamas-affiliated Palestinian gunmen fired on the Beit El settlement on Friday night. The troops killed one of the gunmen and apprehended the second several hours later. Detained as well were two additional men who were feared to be assisting the two.
This year, Israeli operations have resulted in the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians, many of whom were engaged in attacks or confrontations with security forces.
The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry reported on Saturday that Israeli gunfire caused serious injuries to two Palestinians during fighting near the town of Qarawat Bani Hasan.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, dozens of Palestinians hurled stones at soldiers in the area, injuring one soldier lightly but preventing him from needing treatment in a hospital. (TikTok bans account of Palestinian armed group)
The IDF added that in addition to employing means of riot dispersal, troops fired live rounds at the “main instigators.”
Palestinians have clashed with Israeli civilians and police in Jerusalem as the West Bank violence has spread.
