Lions' Den leader turns himself in to Palestinian Authority - report

Udai Al-Azizi, a leader in the Nablus-based Lions' Den terrorist group, turned himself in to the Palestinian Authority's security forces in the early hours of Friday morning, according to Hebrew language media.

He reportedly did this out of fear that he would be killed by Israeli security forces.

Palestinian sources claim that the man who turned himself in is a wanted gunman who is not the leader of Lions' Den.

The Lions' Den group first appeared last year in Nablus. It named its founder as Muhammad Azizi, who was killed in an IDF operation in the city in July. Azizi was also reportedly a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

While the first public statement about the group was made in September, the group was first detected by the Israeli defense establishment in July and members of the group claimed to the New York Times that it was founded in February 2022.

Since its founding, the group, which includes members from multiple Palestinian factions, has carried out a series of shooting attacks against Israeli security forces and civilians, including an attack in October in which IDF Staff-Sgt. Ido Baruch was murdered. The Israeli defense establishment and the Palestinian Authority have both worked to take down the terrorist organization.

Khaled Abu Toameh and Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.