The Palestinian Islamic Jihad

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 18 – 24, 2019)

On December 20, 2019, the 85th return march was held in the Gaza Strip, with a level of violence similar to that of past weeks. Sporadic rocket fire from the Gaza Strip has continued since the most recent round of escalation. Hamas and other organizations participating in the return marches have recently deliberated the continuation of the marches. In Judea and Samaria a broad terrorist network of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was exposed.
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The return marches: towards a new format?

Hamas and other terrorist organizations participating in the return marches have recently been discussing whether or not to continue the marches, and ideas for new formats have been raised.
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News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 17-11, 2019)

On December 13, 2019, return march events were held in three locations in the Gaza Strip instead of the usual five. About 2,200 Palestinians participated, a relatively low number. The Palestinian and Arab media reported that deliberations were currently being held to determine the nature of future return marches. Isma'il Haniyeh, head of Hamas' political bureau, is currently heading a Hamas delegation visiting a number of foreign countries.
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Hamas’s perception of the lull agreement with Israel, recently discussed in Cairo

On December 2, 2019, two senior delegations, from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), arrived in Cairo. The Hamas delegation was headed by Ismail Haniyah, the head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, and the PIJ delegation was headed by Ziyad Nakhaleh, PIJ’s secretary-general.
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Spotlight on Iran (November 17, 2019 – December 1, 2019)

In response to the launch of rockets from Syria toward Israel on November 19, the next day, the IDF struck targets of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Syrian Army. Iran maintained ambiguity with regards to the IDF strike on IRGC targets. The American TV network, Fox News, published satellite imagery showing that Iran is rebuilding the Imam Ali base near Albu Kamal, on the Syrian side of the Syrian-Iraqi border. As part of the ongoing protests in Iraq, on the night of November 27, protesters torched the Iranian consulate in Najaf, southern Iraq. The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, spoke with the Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
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Identity of the Palestinian fatalities in the latest round of escalation in the Gaza Strip (findings of a preliminary examination)

On November 12-14, 2019, a round of escalation took place in the Gaza Strip following the killing of Bahaa Abu al-Atta, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). In response to his killing, the PIJ fired about 560 rockets to Israeli territory.
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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.