Terrorist Organizations - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 31 – June 6, 2023)

An Egyptian border guard policeman infiltrated Israeli territory, and shot and killed two IDF fighters manning a guard post. Another fighter was killed during the pursuit of the shooter. The Palestinian terrorist organizations did not formally react to the attack, but the Palestinian media outlets issued a wide variety of joyous responses. This past week there were three terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria. Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activities in Judea and Samaria. Palestinians in Judea and Samaria continued throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles. The Gaza Strip remained relatively quiet. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) delegations are currently in Egypt. The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership held meetings with foreign diplomats. Read more...

Fatah summer campers in the Nablus district undergo military training

The Nablus branch of Fatah recently held summer camps for children and adolescents in the village of Bayta, south of the city. Videos of camp activities posted to the Palestinian social media showed the youth, some of them armed with rifles, undergoing military training. Apparently, the Fatah camp in Bayta was held because of the increasing participation of Fatah and its military-terrorist wing in the recent violent clashes between the Israeli security forces and Palestinians. Bayta was apparently not randomly chosen as the venue for the summer camps. Read more...

Initial Palestinian reactions to the “deal of the century” (Updated to February 2, 2020)

On January 28, 2020, Donald Trump, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, revealed his plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, called "Peace to Prosperity" (i.e., the "deal of the century"). The plan met with strong opposition and (as expected) led to a wave of Palestinian condemnations. The Palestinian Authority (PA) began making preparations for a diplomatic and media campaign to place obstacles in the path of the plan and to undermine its legitimacy. Read more...

Statements about Operation Shield and Arrow from Palestinian terrorist organization and Hezbollah leaders

As soon as the ceasefire went into effect, the leadership of the Palestinian terrorist organizations, especially Hamas and the PIJ, declared a "victory," claiming one of its signs was the fact they had dictated the terms for the ceasefire. Despite endless repetitions of the joint operations room's united activity, in reality almost all the rockets and mortar shells were fired by PIJ operatives. Hamas was careful, at least publicly, not to take an active part in the fighting or to use its military capabilities against Israel. Recently, interviews were held and speeches were made about the Palestinian "achievements" in the operation, but some revealed the Palestinians' weak spots Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 24-30, 2023)

This past week there were four terrorist attacks: a shooting attack in Hermesh in which an Israeli civilian was killed; two shooting attacks, one in Gan Ner and the other in Mevo Dotan,; and a Palestinian armed with a knife infiltrated the settlement of Teneh Omarim south of Hebron. Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activities, focusing on Nablus, Jenin, Jericho and Hebron. The Gaza Strip remained relatively calm. Mohammed al-Emadi, chairman of Qatar's National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, visited Gaza and left without announcing when the monthly funds would be distributed. Hamas claimed there were technical problems. Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh visited Egypt Hamas' Islamic Bloc won its second straight victory in Birzeit University student council elections. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (May 19 – June 1, 2023)

Hezbollah celebrated its annual "Resistance and Liberation Day," held to mark the IDF's living south Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah secretary general, Hasan Nasrallah, gave a speech boasting of the organization's military capabilities, stressing the concept of the "unity of the arenas" and threatening Israel with a battle on multiple fronts. Hezbollah held two military exercises in south Lebanon to demonstrate its capabilities. In the larger, more widely media-covered exercise, operatives using live ammunition simulated taking control of an IDF post or Israeli community and abducting IDF soldiers, and displayed the organization's weapon Lebanese opposition sources criticized Hezbollah for holding the exercise. American sources reported Hezbollah operatives were undergoing training for an attack on American soldiers in Syria. Read more...

Hezbollah holds a military display in south Lebanon and threatens Israel

On May 21, 2023, Hezbollah held a military exercise in south Lebanon using live fire, which was well-covered by the media. The organization displayed its capabilities, reiterated its intention to obliterate the State of Israel and promoted the "unity of the arenas" narrative. Hezbollah operatives simulated breaking through Israel's border, taking control of an Israeli post or community and abducting soldiers. Weapons such as multiple-barrel rocket launchers mounted on armored vehicles, quadcopters and machine guns were displayed, but no missiles or UAVs. In ITIC assessment, Hezbollah tried to send a message that it would not lay down its arms or abandon its role as "Lebanon's defender," and promote the "unity of the arenas" narrative to the region in general and its "resistance axis" collaborators in particular. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 17-23, 2023)

This past week Palestinian terrorists carried out three attacks: two shooting attacks without casualties and one vehicular ramming attack in Hawwara in which an IDF soldier was injured. Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activities, focusing on Nablus, Jenin and Hebron. Three Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire with the forces. The Flag March held on Israel's Jerusalem Day passed without exceptional incident. Palestinians launched a media campaign calling for Palestinian flags to be waved and hung on houses. The visit of Israeli minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Temple Mount was widely condemned. The Gaza Strip has been relatively quiet. Efforts are being made to estimate the damage. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which regards the operation as a Palestinian success story, held rallies in the Gaza Strip, Jenin, Lebanon and Syria to commemorate its shaheeds. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (May 5-18, 2023)

Hezbollah plans to hold a live-fire military exercise near the Israeli border on May 21, 2023. On May 12, 2023, Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech in which he represented the most recent round of fighting in the Gaza Strip as an achievement for the resistance axis. He also warned that any targeted killing in the future would not go without a response. The Lebanese minister of energy announced that in September 2023 the TotalEnergies and ENI oil and natural gas-drilling companies would begin drilling in Block 9 off the coast of Lebanon. Reservations are increasing in Lebanon regarding the candidacy of Suleiman Frangieh for president; he is close to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 25-31, 2023)

This week, there was a decline in ISIS’s activity around the world. The hotspot of the organization’s activity was in Africa. In Syria ISIS killed four fighters of the forces supporting the Syrian army in the desert area in two different attacks. A Russian colonel was killed by HTS artillery fire on the outskirts of Latakia. In Nigeria: ISIS continued its activity against the Nigerian army in the northeast of the country, albeit on a smaller scale than in recent weeks. In Congo: ISIS continued its activity against Christian residents near the Ugandan border. The editorial of ISIS’s weekly Al-Naba stresses that Syria's return to the Arab League is not surprising “since he is no different from the other tyrants in that organization.” The writer calls on Muslims in Syria to adhere to the path of jihad and not to rely on “the Arab dictators” to rescue them. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 18-24, 2023)

The moderate increase in ISIS’s activity around the world continued this week. The hotspot of activity was in Africa. In Syria: ISIS carried out several attacks against the Syrian army and the forces supporting it in the desert region. In Lebanon A senior Al-Qaeda operative who was responsible for establishing the organization’s cells in Lebanon was detained northeast of Tripoli. A senior ISIS operative was detained in the Sidon area. In Nigeria ISIS continued its high-intensity activity against the Nigerian army in the northeast of the country. The main incident was the detonation of a car bomb. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 11-17, 2023)

This week, ISIS’s activity around the world has moderately increased. The hotspots of activity were in Syria, Iraq, and Africa. Syria: In Damascus, ISIS operatives detonated an IED against a police car. Three policemen were killed. Iraq: ISIS carried out four attacks this week, killing six members of the Iraqi security forces. Nigeria: ISIS continued its intensive activity against targets of the Nigerian army and the forces of the African Coalition (MNJTF). Democratic Republic of the Congo: ISIS continued its activity against Christian residents near the border with Uganda. Burkina Faso: Militants, apparently Al-Qaeda or ISIS operatives, killed at least 33 civilians and set their property on fire. Somalia: Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab executed dozens of ISIS operatives detained by it. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (April 24 – May 3, 2023)

This week, ISIS carried out relatively low-scale activity around the world. The focus of the activity was on Africa.A US-led Global Coalition force, supported by the Kurdish SDF forces, detained a senior ISIS commander north of Al-Raqqah. The US Army reported an airstrike against a senior Al-Qaeda operative in northwestern Syria. In Nigeria: ISIS continued its activity against Nigerian army targets and against local residents in the northeast of the country. In Congo ISIS continued its activity against Christian residents in the northeast of the country. At least seven residents were killed. Three people, two of them Jews and a Tunisian security guard, were killed in an attack carried out at the entrance to a synagogue on the island of Djerba in Tunisia . So far, no organization has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it may have been an Islamic-motivated attack. The editorial of ISIS’s Al-Naba weekly stressed ISIS’s weakness in the Arab region alongside its expansion on the African continent, noting that Africans have replaced the Arabs as successors of the path of jihad. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 16-22, 2023)

This week there was a decrease in the scope of ISIS activity around the world. In Afghanistan An IED was activated against a vehicle carrying the governor of the Sherzad region.Two Syrian soldiers were killed by gunfire, apparently by ISIS operatives, in the Palmyra Desert. In The Democratic Republic of the Congo An ISIS attack was carried out for the first time in the area of the town of Lubero. According to ISIS, it is an expansion of the organization’s activity outside the areas of Beni and Ituri, in the northeast of Congo. According to the findings of the Global Terrorism Index summing up 2022, which was published in Australia, ISIS is the deadliest terrorist organization. Read more...

Hostile references by ISIS and Al-Qaeda to the FIFA World Cup games in Qatar

Official media channels of ISIS and Al-Qaeda show a hostile attitude towards the FIFA World Cup games Al-Naba, ISIS’s official weekly, called to act according to the recommendation of the Prophet of Islam Muhammad and to remove the polytheists, Jews, and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Qaeda called on Muslims to boycott the event because it promotes obscenity and homosexuality in the Arabian Peninsula and warned Muslims not to watch it, attend it or promote it. Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict* (September 21 – 27, 2016)

The wave of population terrorism that reemerged last week continues, although with waning intensity. Prominent this past week was a stabbing attack at the entrance to Kiryat Arba. Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech before the UN General Assembly in which he strongly attacked Israel. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 18-24, 2015)

The Kurdish forces, which took over the city of Tal Abyad near the Turkish border, are working to expand their area of control and force out the ISIS operatives. In and around the Druze village of Khader, in the northern Syrian Golan Heights, fighting continued between the rebel forces, including the Al-Nusra Front, and the Read more...