Tamer al-Kilani, a senior member of the Lion’s Den terrorist group, was killed in an explosion in Nablus late Saturday.
Palestinian officials claimed Sunday, the source of the explosion was a bike on which explosives were planted by a Palestinian collaborating with Israel.
According to the claims, al-Kilani was walking through Nablus' old city and the bike exploded when he passed by it. The collaborator was caught by nearby security cameras placing the explosives.
The IDF and Shin Bet did not comment on al-Kilani’s death.
"He was killed by a sticky TNT charge," the Lion's Den said Sunday morning. "We call on all the Palestinian people to attend his funeral."
Al-Kilani, 33, was previously imprisoned in Israel and was in charge of several terror attacks in recent months. He planned an attack in Tel Aviv, which failed after the terrorist was arrested in Jaffa in November, and was involved in several shooting attacks in the Nablus area.
The Lion’s Den terrorist group was in charge of several terror attacks in recent months, among them the shooting attack in the West Bank which resulted in the death of IDF soldier Staff Sergeant Ido Baruch.
The group continues recruiting new members and plans further attacks on Israeli targets.
The claims about al-Kilani’s death come following two meetings Prime Minister Yair Lapid held with security officials last week concerning the terrorist group’s operations in the West Bank. The meetings were attended by Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Israel also announced last week it revoked 164 works permits of Palestinians related to members of the terrorist group. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the IDF's liaison to the Palestinians, said that “terrorists hiding in Nablus should know their identity is well known, and the terror they choose to inflict will affect their families, who won’t be able to work in Israel.”
Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic-language newspaper published in London, reported that Israel has offered members of the terrorist group to surrender themselves to Israel and be imprisoned in a Palestinian Authority-controlled prison, and to be given a pardon from Israel alongside an obligation not to arrest them.
Israeli authorities did not comment on the report and did not confirm that such an offer has been made to any Lion’s Den members.
According to the report, Lion’s Den members rejected the Israeli offer. The paper also reported that “sources in Tel Aviv confirmed the offer was made and claimed the Palestinian Authority delivered it.”
According to the report, the Palestinian Authority released a statement to Lion’s Den members, saying that “the occupation is determined to end your operations, and will terminate you one by one. Let us protect you from Israel’s tyranny.”
A Lion’s Den spokesman said the offer was not accepted. “The offer points to Israeli ignorance of the actions of the Palestinian front, which rose to oppose operations in Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem and the West Bank, and to confront the occupation’s security forces. The mujahedeen will continue to confront and confuse the occupation.”
A Palestinian source last week claimed that Israeli security forces are confused over the operations of the terrorist group. “They think the group consists of 30 Palestinian youths in Nablus, but the truth is they number in the hundreds, and maybe even thousands of youths.”
The source added: “they decided to band together and force a new national reality. They are willing to fight, attack Israeli oppression, and act against Jewish settlement plans in the West Bank trying to make the Palestinian question disappear.”