Akram Al-Ajouri
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Akram al-Ajouri () is a leader of
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), commonly known simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinians, Palestinian Islamism, Islamist paramilitary organization formed in 1981. P ...
(PIJ) . Al-Ajouri is based in Damascus and was unsuccessfully targeted in an
Israeli Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) airstrike on November 12, 2019, on the same day the IDF killed Baha Abu al-Ata. The IDF described al-Ajouri as a member of the PIJ's political bureau in Syria. However, the airstrike on a building in
Mezzeh Mezzeh (, also transcribed as al-Mazzah, el-Mazze, etc.) is a municipality in Damascus, Syria, due west of Kafr Sousa. It lies to the southwest of central Damascus, along the Mazzeh highway (also known as Fayez Mansour). It started gaining imp ...
area killed his son and daughter, and six were injured. Clashes began between Gaza and Israel following his attempted killing and the killing of al-Ata. As of 14 November 2023, al-Ajouri is designated as a terrorist by the
United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
. On 24 February 2020 it was reported that he was targeted by an Israeli strike in Damascus, Syria.


Military career

Since joining Jihad, Akram al-Ajouri has gradually risen through the ranks, initially holding ordinary positions before moving on to important positions, including being elected to the movement's political bureau abroad in late September 2018, as well as being a member of the movement's Shura Council and playing a role in financing and arming the movement. According to
Israeli media There are over ten different languages in the Israeli media, with Hebrew as the predominant one. Press in Arabic caters to the Arab citizens of Israel, with readers from areas including those governed by the Palestinian National Authority. Duri ...
, Tel Aviv holds Akram al-Ajouri “fully responsible” for the periodic rocket fire from the Gaza Strip on settlements around the Strip, and links him to the
Iranian regime The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its constitution, adopted ...
, accusing him of having “distinguished and strong relations” with
Quds Force The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...
commander Qassem Soleimani and Lebanese
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
Secretary-General
Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...
.


Assassination attempt

After emerging as one of the most important members of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, Israel attempted to assassinate him on November 12, 2019, when it bombed his home in Daraya, Syria, but failed to do so; his son Moaz was killed and six others were injured, while al-Ajouri was unharmed.


International Sanctions

As of 14 November 2023, al-Ajouri is designated as a terrorist by the
United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
. On 13 December 2023, he was added to UK's International Counter-Terrorism List, making subject to a travel ban and assets freeze. This action was taken by the UK Foreign Office in response to the October 7 attacks on Israel by
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
.


References

Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine members Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{palestine-bio-stub