The Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 22-28, 2023)

This past week Palestinian terrorists carried out four shooting attacks in Judea and Samaria two soldiers were wounded. Israeli security forces continued their counterterrorism activities. Their activities focused on the Tulkarm region, where the commander of the Tulkarm Battalion was killed, and on the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp (near Jericho). The Gaza Strip remained relatively calm. IDF forces intercepted a Hamas UAV flying over the Gaza Strip. Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya said in an interview that the battle against Israel was reaching its final confrontation, and that Israel's weaknesses were being revealed day after day. Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh continued meeting with foreign diplomats to gain support for the Palestinian issue. Read more...

Hamas threatens escalation and encourages terrorist attacks during Ramadan

Ramadan officially begin on March 23, 2023 and end on April 21, 2023. Given the current tension in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem and the events of past years, Palestinian sources, especially in the Hamas leadership, reiterate that the situation is unstable and likely to deteriorate sharply. They threaten escalation and worse if Israel continues its "activities against the Palestinians and al-Aqsa mosque," for them the red line which could ignite the region. Marwan Issa, the deputy head of Hamas' military-terrorist wing, gave a rare interview where he claimed that any change in the status quo of al-Aqsa would cause "a regional earthquake." The security prisoners in Israeli jails also claimed they would go on hunger strikes throughout the month. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 8-14, 2023)

This past week four terrorist attacks were carried out in Judea, Samaria and inside Israel. The most serious was a shooting attack in Tel Aviv in which three Israeli civilian were wounded. The Israeli security forces' counterterrorism activities were focused Jenin and Nablus in Samaria; 16 Palestinians were killed, most of them terrorist operatives. A rocket was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. An IED exploded near an IDF bulldozer engaged in activities near the border security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership continues diplomatic activity. Fuad al-Shubaki was released from an Israeli prison after serving a term of 17 years for involvement in an attempt to smuggle arms from Iran to the. Read more...

Protests in Israel and the rejection of the government’s new legal reforms from the perspective of the Palestinians and Hezbollah

The Palestinian media are systematically covering the demonstrations held in Israel to protest the legal reforms advanced by the Israeli government. Their reports are generally informative . Several Palestinian political commentators related to the issue. Some stressed that its unity was being eroded. Some even called on the Palestinians to unite and exploit the crisis to advance the "liberation" and to continue the "resistance." The Iranian and Arab channels also devote a large part of their airtime to events in Israel and encourage the division in Israeli society. High-ranking Hezbollah figures relate to the protests and push their own narrative, which stresses the "temporary nature of the Zionist entity" and quote Hassan Nasrallah's speech about the "spider web. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 1-7, 2023)

This past week there was a shooting attack at the Beit Hagai Junction (south of Hebron); one Israeli was wounded. The Israeli security forces continued their counterterrorism activities, focusing on the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho and detaining the terrorists who shot and killed an Israeli on February 27, 2023. During the activity one Palestinian was killed. Palestinians continued throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles driving on the roads in Judea and Samaria. The Gaza Strip remained relatively quiet. After several delays, the envoy from Qatar arrived to discuss the renewal of the Qatari donation of funds. The law for giving terrorists the death penalty, which passed its first vote in the Knesset, led to a series of strong condemnations in the Palestinian Authority (PA), including calls for a mass uprising and threats against Israel. Read more...

Reactions to the IDF Activity in Nablus (February 22, 2023)

On February 22, 2023, the Israeli security forces operated in Nablus to detain three wanted Palestinians. The activity developed into extensive riots and exchanges of gunfire. Eleven Palestinians were killed, most of them armed, and more than 100 were wounded. An examination of the names of the Palestinian fatalities revealed that six of them were Lion's Den operatives The unusually large operation was one the Israeli security forces' ongoing activities, mainly in northern Samaria, to prevent terrorist networks from carrying out attacks Read more...

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The Palestinian Islamic Jihad

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is the second largest and most important terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. It was established in the Gaza Strip in the late 1970s by students studying in Egypt, members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and headed by Dr. Fathi Shqaqi, a physician from Rafah, and Sheikh Abd al-Aziz Awda, a preacher from the Jebaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad has a radical fundamentalist Sunni Muslim ideology. It seeks the immediate “liberation” of Palestine through jihad (holy war) and the establishment of a Muslim Palestinian state. Fathi Shqaqi was eliminated in Malta in 1995, and was succeeded by Dr. Ramadan Shalah, who is also one of the organization’s founding members.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad rejects any arrangement or agreement with Israel. According to its ideology, jihad is an obligation that should be implemented immediately rather than be postponed until after the establishment of an Islamic state. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad has a military arm, Quds Brigades, equipped with various weapons, which fires rockets from the Gaza Strip and instigates carrying out terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria. During the Second Intifada, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad “specialized” in carrying out suicide bombing attacks in Israeli territory.

Of all Palestinian terrorist organizations, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad is the closest to Iran and more than any other organization, it receives extensive support from Iran.

Like other terrorist organizations, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.