Lions' Den fighters attack Israeli checkpoint, while Ben-Gvir punishes Palestinian prisoners

Lions' Den fighters launched an attack on Israeli military forces besieging Nablus on Wednesday, as Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced a wave of punitive measures against Palestinian prisoners. 

The group said on Telegram that its fighters had "unleashed volleys of bullets on Sirra checkpoint to the west of Nablus" in the early hours of Wednesday morning, before "withdrawing safely". 

The New Arab could not confirm the attacks, but such operations are common by the Lions' Den, as they seek to break Israel’s grip on the key West Bank city.

The Lions' Den is a recently formed armed Palestinian group independent of more established Palestinian organisations.

It regularly fires at Israeli checkpoints and positions around the outskirts of Nablus, as part of what it says are resistance efforts against the Israeli occupation. 

It comes as Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced the closure of prisoner bakeries in the Ramon and Ketziot jails inside Israel.

The decision has been deemed an act of collective punishment.

Ben-Gvir's office stated: "The minister's policy is to deny benefits and indulgences to terrorists imprisoned in Israel, to deny them benefits that can be denied by law and certainly to deny them rights that for some reason only terrorists and not criminal prisoners have."

The bakeries provide basic sustenance to prisoners, who have to work to provide food for each other, although Israeli media has described them as a "treat". 

Palestinian detainees at Ramon prison set fire to their cells to protest violations by Israeli prison guards and the seizure of their belongings. 

Mother-of-four Yasmine Shabaan, who suffers from several health complications, was placed in solitary confinement. 

In a leaked voice recording from Damon Prison, an unidentified female prisoner sent the following message: "Free people of Palestine, heroes of our resistance. From the prison of Damon, where your mothers and sister are held hostage, where your daughters are abused, we raise our voices in the face of anyone who fears your liberation."

Israel has launched a wave of bloody assaults across the occupied West Bank, killing 36 Palestinians so far this year.

Palestinians fear more deadly attacks by the Israeli government, with far-right ministers such as Ben-Gvir heading security.