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The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a
coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
of Palestinian armed groups in the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. The organization has been designated as a
terrorist organization A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...
by
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.


Leadership

The leadership of the brigades and average members have identified themselves as the military wing of
Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and s ...
. On their website, and on posters, they post the Fatah emblem. The leadership of Fatah has said they never made a decision either to create the brigades, or make them the militant wing of Fatah. Since 2002, some leaders in Fatah have reportedly tried to get the brigades to stop attacking civilians. In November 2003, BBC journalists uncovered a payment by Fatah of $50,000 a month to al-Aqsa. This investigation, combined with the documents found by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
(IDF), led the
government of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...
to draw the conclusion that the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have always been directly funded by
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
. In June 2004, then Palestinian Prime Minister
Ahmed Qurei Ahmed Ali Mohammed Qurei (or Qureia; ar, أحمد علي محمد قريع, ), also known by his Arabic '' kunya'' Abu Alaa (, ) (born 26 March 1937) is a former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. First appointed to the positi ...
openly stated this: "We have clearly declared that the Aksa Martyrs' Brigades are part of Fatah. We are committed to them and Fatah bears full responsibility for the group." On 18 December 2003, Fatah asked the leaders of the al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades to join the Fatah Council, recognizing it officially as part of the Fatah organization.


Notable members

Notable members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade (ordered lexicographically according to the last name) includes active militants and militants that were killed or arrested by the Israeli security forces. * Raed Al-Karmi: General commander and founder the Brigades, Killed by Shin Bet in 14 January 2002 in Tulkarm. * Naif Abu-Sharah: local commander in
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
(killed by
IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...
). * Fadi Kafisha: former head of the Tanzim in Nablus; killed by IDF in 2006. * Sirhan Sirhan: Involved in the 2002 Metzer attack. Killed by
Yamam The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...
in 2003. * Zakaria Zubeidi: local commander in
Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had ...
, known for his relationship with Israeli far left activist Tali Fahima. * Samih Madhoun, senior leader. Killed in 2007 by the
al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB
* Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, local commander in
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
, killed in August 2022.


Militant activities

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are responsible for numerous attacks in the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, targeting both Israelis and Palestinians. In 2002, for example, they killed Ikhlas Khouli for collaborating with Israel. In November and December 2003, they killed the brother of Ghassan Shakaa (the mayor of
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
). In February 2004 Shakaa filed his resignation from office in protest of the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,
's lack of action against the armed militias "rampaging" the city. During the first three months of 2004, a number of attacks on journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were blamed on the Brigades as well, including the attack on the Arab television station
Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...
's West Bank offices by masked men who identified themselves as members of the Brigades. Palestinian journalists in Gaza called a general strike on 9 February 2004 to protest this rising violence against journalists. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have taken prominent part in the July 2004 riots in the Gaza Strip, in which Palestinian officers were kidnapped and PA security headquarters buildings and policemen were attacked by gunmen. These riots led the Palestinian cabinet to declare a state of emergency. One media outlet described the situation in the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,
as
anarchy Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopte ...
and chaos. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have carried out several joint attacks with the Islamist group
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...
. These attacks were committed mainly in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have also carried out joint attack with other militant groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, The Popular Resistance Committees and with
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
in the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
's Gaza offices were raided by 15 masked gunmen from al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades on 30 January 2006. They demanded apologies from Denmark and Norway regarding the
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons The ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, da, Muhammedkrisen) began after the Danish newspaper ''Jyllands-Posten'' published 12 editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005, most of which depicted Muhamma ...
and left 30 minutes later without shots fired or injuries. On 9 June 2007, in a failed assault on an IDF position at the Kissufim crossing between Gaza and Israel in a possible attempt to kidnap IDF soldiers, 4 armed members of the al-Quds Brigades – the military wing of Islamic Jihad – and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades – the military wing of
Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and s ...
-, used a vehicle marked with "TV" and "PRESS" insignias penetrated the border fence and assaulted a guard tower in what Islamic Jihad and the army said was a failed attempt to capture an Israeli soldier. IDF troops killed one militant, while the others escaped. The use of a vehicle that resembled a press vehicle evoked a sharp response from many journalists and news organizations, including the Foreign Press Association and
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
. On 14 July 2007, Zakaria Zubeidi, considered the local al-Aqsa leader for
Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had ...
and the northern West Bank and has been wanted for many years for his armed activity against Israel, agreed to cease fighting against Israel after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave conditional pardon for 178 prisoners from the PA territories.


Notable attacks

Some notable attacks (including suicide bombings) committed by the group were: *January 2002: 2002 Hadera attack, when a gunman killed six and wounded 33 in a Bat Mitzvah celebration. *19 February 2002: Ein 'Arik checkpoint attack, near
Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerus ...
, where one officer and five soldiers were killed. *3 March 2002: Wadi al-Haramiya sniper attack by a single sniper on an IDF checkpoint at Wadi al-Haramiya, near Ofra, where two officers and five soldiers were killed and five soldiers wounded. Three civilian settlers were also killed in the incident. *2 March 2002: The Yeshivat Beit Yisrael massacrein Beit Yisrael,
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
– 11 killed. *5 January 2003: Tel Aviv Central bus station massacre – 22 killed. *29 January 2004: The
Café Moment bombing The Café Moment bombing was a Palestinian suicide bombing of a coffee shop in downtown Jerusalem, Israel that killed 11 Israeli civilians and left 54 others wounded. It was carried out on March 9, 2002, during the Second Intifada. The attack ...
in Rehavia, Jerusalem, bus line 19 – 11 killed. *22 February 2004: A
suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
on a bus in
West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by t ...
– 8 killed. *14 March 2004: Port of Ashdod bombings – 10 killed (carried out together with
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...
). *24 March 2004, a Palestinian teenager named
Hussam Abdo Hussam Muhammad Bilal Abdo (Arabic: حسام محمد بلال عبده; born 24 February 1990) is a Palestinian from the Masahiya area of Nablus, who, as a teenager, made international headlines on 24 March 2004, when he entered the Hawara Checkp ...
was caught in an
IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...
checkpoint carrying an explosive belt. Following his arrest, an al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade teenagers' militant cell was exposed and arrested in
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
. On 23 September 2004, a 15-year-old suicide bomber was arrested by Israeli security forces. *16 October 2005: the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for a shooting attack at the Gush Etzion Junction, killing three Israelis and wounding three others. *29 March 2022:
2022 Bnei Brak shootings On 29 March 2022, a series of shootings took place in Bnei Brak, Israel. Diaa Hamarsheh, a 26-year-old Palestinian from Ya'bad, killed five people. Events The attacker infiltrated into Israel by using an agricultural crossing of the Israel ...
, where a gunman shot five people dead in the Ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb of
Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.7 ...
before being killed. The Brigades claimed responsibility.


2007 amnesty deal

In July 2007, Israel and the Palestinian Authority reached an amnesty deal under which 178 al-Aqsa gunmen surrendered their arms to the Palestinian Authority, renounced future anti-Israel violence and were permitted to join Palestinian security forces. Later agreements in 2007 and 2008 added more gunmen to the list of those granted amnesty in exchange for ending violence, eventually bringing the total to over 300. On 22 August 2007, according to
Arutz Sheva ''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew, English, and Russian as well as ...
, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade announced that it was backing out of its commitment and promise to refrain from attacks against Israel and the Israeli backed amnesty deal giving amnesty to 178 al-Aqsa gunmen who agreed to stop militant activities against Israel and surrender their weapons. al-Aqsa said that it backed out of the deal due to the IDF's arrest of two militants who were supposed to be on the amnesty list. According to the IDF, they said they caught the two men at a checkpoint and said they were involved in "terrorist activity" which consequently mandated their arrest according to the stipulations of the amnesty deal. Shortly after backing out of the amnesty deal and its promise of stopping to attack Israel that Al Aqsa agreed to a month earlier, al-Aqsa gunmen in Gaza have announced that they are starting to launch hundreds of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns and cities and named the campaign, "Hole in the Wall II."


Popular culture

In the
Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
movie ''
Brüno ''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters fro ...
'', the character Brüno interviewed
Palestinian Christian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
Ayman Abu Aita, who was portrayed in the movie as a leader of the militant group. The group released a statement to a Jerusalem-based journalist saying that it was "very upset" that it had been featured in the film. Abu Aita insists that he was tricked into appearing in the film and that he has never been involved with the Martyrs' Brigades. In an interview with ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'', Abu Aita stated, "It is true that I was jailed in 2003 ... I was active in resisting the occupation, in non-violent ways." After a clip of the interview was played on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...
'', Ayman called Baron Cohen a "big liar". Abu Aita subsequently filed a $110 million lawsuit against Baron Cohen and
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...
. The suit was settled before trial.


See also

*
Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,
*
Popular Resistance Committees The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) ( ar, لجان المقاومة الشعبية, ''Lijān al-Muqāwama al-Shaʿbiyya'') is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of t ...
* Child suicide bombers in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict * List of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades suicide attacks * Palestinian domestic weapons production


References


External links


Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades website
(Arabic)
Council on Foreign Relations. Terrorism Q&A: al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades

Profile: al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades: A political tool with an edge
, from Israel's Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

* ttp://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP67504 Daily Life in the Palestininian Authority
BBC: Palestinian Authority Funds go to Militants
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Anti-Zionism in the Palestinian territories Socialism in the Palestinian territories Fatah Paramilitary organizations based in the State of Palestine Palestinian militant groups Military wings of political parties Palestinian terrorism Resistance movements Organizations designated as terrorist by Canada Organisations designated as terrorist by the European Union Organizations designated as terrorist by Israel Organisations designated as terrorist by Japan Organisations designated as terrorist by New Zealand Organisations designated as terrorist by the United Kingdom Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist Palestinian nationalism 2000 establishments in the Palestinian territories Temple Mount Axis of Resistance