The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), commonly known simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

Islamist paramilitary organization formed in 1981. PIJ formed as an offshoot of the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

and was influenced ideologically in its formation by the Islamic Revolution in Iran. It is a member of the

Alliance of Palestinian Forces The Alliance of Palestinian Forces (APF; ) is a Damascus-based loose political alliance of eight Palestinian organizations. The Alliance was created in Damascus in December 1993 by ten Palestinian factions opposed to the negotiations that led u ...

, which rejects the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

and whose objective is the establishment of a sovereign

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Palestinian state Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, collectively known as th ...

.BBC
Who are Islamic Jihad? 9 June 2003 It calls for the military destruction of Israel and rejects a

two-state solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...

. The organization's financial backing has historically come mainly from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

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 ...

. Since 2014, PIJ has seen its power steadily increase with the backing of funds from Iran. PIJ has notably participated in the ongoing

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

(2023–present), fighting alongside

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 ...

and other allied Palestinian factions. The armed wing of PIJ is Al-Quds Brigades (also known as "Saraya"), also formed in 1981, which is active in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, with its main strongholds in the West Bank being the cities of

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

and

Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...

. Its operations have included

suicide bombing A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

s, attacks on Israeli civilians, as well as the firing of rockets into Israel, targeting civilians. PIJ has been designated a

terrorist organization Several 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 former ...

by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.

History and background

PIJ was formally established in Gaza in 1981 by two Palestinian activists: Fathi abd al-Aziz Shaqaqi, a Rafah-based physician, and Shaykh Abd al-Aziz Awda, an Islamic preacher from the Jabaliyya refugee camp, as well as Ramadan Shalah, Bashir Moussa, and three other Palestinian radicals. Based in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, Shaqaqi and Awda were originally members of the

. Their views on the destruction of Israel led them in 1979 to establish Islamic Jihad-Shaqaqi Faction, a branch of the

Egyptian Islamic Jihad The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ; ), formerly called simply Islamic Jihad () and the Liberation Army for Holy Sites, originally referred to as al-Jihad, and then the Jihad Group, or the Jihad Organization, was an Egyptian Islamist group active ...

. and conducted operations out of Egypt. The Shaqaqi Faction was expelled from Egypt in 1981, following the

assassination of Anwar Sadat On 6 October 1981, Anwar Sadat, the President of Egypt, was assassinated during the annual victory parade held in Cairo to celebrate the victory over Israel in the 1973 war, during which the Egyptian Army had crossed the Suez Canal at the be ...

, the 3rd

President of Egypt The president of the Arab Republic of Egypt () is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the History of the Egypt ...

, by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Shaqaqi and Awda returned to Gaza where they formally established PIJ, from where it continued its operations. The aim of the organization was the establishment of a sovereign

within the geographic borders of pre-1948

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. Completely rejecting the political process, the organization professes that its goals can only be achieved through military means. PIJ began its armed operations against Israel in 1984. In 1988, its leaders were exiled by Israel to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. While in Lebanon, the group received training, support and other backing from

and its backers in Iran, and developed a close relationship with the organization. In 1990, the headquarters of PIJ moved to the

n capital,

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, where it continues to be based,Taylor & Francis, Ltd., "The Damascus-Based Alliance of Palestinian Forces: A Primer" ''Journal of Palestine Studies'' (Spring 2000), pp. 60–76
JSTOR ref.
with offices in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, and

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

. PIJ masterminded several

suicide attacks A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

in Israel, and is considered by Israel the most extreme organization in its operational methods and commitment to the destruction of Israel. By 1995 PIJ was, according to Robert Fisk, "perhaps the fiercest of all Israel's modern-day enemies." There was a subsequent crackdown on the PIJ by Israel and the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...

which led to a significant weakening of the organization. On 20 February 2003,

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

computer engineering Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software. It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science. Computer engi ...

professor Sami Al-Arian was arrested after being indicted on a terrorism-related charge. U.S. Attorney General

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, Lobbying, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the 79th United States attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. A Republican Party (United States), R ...

alleged at a

press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

that Al-Arian was the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. On 6 December 2006, Sami Al-Arian was sentenced to 57 months in prison, pursuant to a

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

. In November 2006 he was found guilty of civil contempt for refusing to testify before a federal

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

and served 21 months in prison on that conviction. On 27 June 2014, the US Federal Government dropped all charges against Al-Arian. PIJ have allegedly used minors for its operations. On 29 March 2004, 15-year-old Tamer Khuweir of Rifidia, a suburb of Palestinian city

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

in the West Bank, was captured by Israeli forces as he planned to carry out a suicide mission. His older brother claimed he was brainwashed and demanded the Palestinian Authority investigate the incident and arrest those responsible for it. On 23 January 1995, the founder of PIJ,

Abd Al Aziz Awda Abdul Aziz Awda, also known as Sheik Awda (born 1946 or 20 December 1950), is a Palestinian cleric who, along with Fathi Shaqaqi, founded the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a Palestinian Islamist paramilitary organization based in Damascus, S ...

, was indicted under United States law and added in 2006 to the United States

FBI Most Wanted Terrorists The FBI Most Wanted Terrorists is a list created and first released on October 10, 2001, with the authority of United States president George W. Bush, following the September 11 attacks. Initially, the list contained 22 of the top suspected terr ...

list. In February 2012, the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip distanced itself from PIJ. During the March 2012 Gaza–Israel clashes, which followed the Israeli assassination of

Popular Resistance Committees The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC; , ''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 the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Isra ...

leader, Zuhir al-Qaisi, who bragged of kidnapping

Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit (, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'' ; born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who, on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Ham ...

, PIJ and PRC opened attacks on Israel. Hamas refrained from joining PIJ and PRC in attacking Israel. Over a hundred Palestinians were killed or injured in the ensuing violence, but no Hamas targets were killed. The subsequent ceasefire was negotiated between Israel and the militant groups, not Hamas. In May 2015, London-based Arabic newspaper ''

Asharq al-Awsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' (, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted for its distinctive green-tinted pages. Although pu ...

'' reported that Iran had stopped funding PIJ due to the group's neutrality over the

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...

, throwing PIJ into a severe financial crisis. Iran had expected PIJ to condemn the intervention led by Saudi Arabia, Iran's chief regional rival. Palestinian newspaper ''

al-Quds Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Jud ...

'' reported that Iran is now supporting an offshoot of PIJ called as-Sabirin (Arabic for "the patient ones"), headed by Islamic Jihad veteran Hisham Salem. Under the former leadership of Ramadan Shalah, the group would receive approximately US$70 million per year from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.

Ideology, motives and beliefs

Ramadan Shalah was interviewed by Scott Atran and Robert Axelrod in

, Syria, on 15 December 2009. In the interview, he said that hope for a two-state solution was gone and that there was little international support for a

one-state solution The one-state solution is a proposed approach to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. It stipulates the establishment of a single state within the boundaries of what was Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and 1948, today consisting of the co ...

in which "Palestinians have rights in all of historic Palestine". Thus he advocated for armed struggle until Israel's defeat.

We are the indigenous people of the land. I was born in Gaza. My family, brothers and sisters, live in Gaza. But I am not allowed to visit them. But any American or Siberian Jew is allowed to take our land. There is no possibility today of a two-state solution. That idea is dead. And there is no real prospect of a one-state solution... I will never, under any conditions, accept the existence of the state of Israel. I have no problem living with the Jewish people... We have lived together in peace for centuries. And if Netanyahu were to ask if we can live together in one state, I would say to him: "If we have exactly the same rights as Jews to come to all of Palestine. If Khaled Meshaal and Ramadan Shalah can come whenever they want, and visit Haifa, and buy a home in
Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...
h if they want, then we can have a new language, and dialogue is possible."

In 2009 interview with Al-Jazeera, PIJ leader Ramadan Abdullah Shallah rejected the two-state solution, said "the one-state solution is better than the two-state solution" and accused the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

of being complicit with the Israeli occupation. In a 2002 book,

Yonah Alexander Yonah Alexander (25 December 1931 – 25 April 2024) was an author and lecturer who specializes in the study of terrorism. Alexander died on 25 April 2024, at the age of 92. Educational background Alexander received his PhD from Columbia Univ ...

wrote that PIJ calls for the destruction of Israel, rejects the option of a peaceful settlement with Israel, and advocates the use of guerrilla tactics to achieve that aim. Israel's eradication is viewed as an essential prerequisite for addressing the challenges facing the Muslim world. It envisions laying the groundwork for a future scenario in which a significant Islamic Arab army engages in military confrontation to achieve Israel's destruction. The PIJ has been accountable for some of the deadliest

in Israel. The group is a Sunni Jihadist movement but includes other religious beliefs.

Activities

Militant activities

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad pledges that armed resistance will continue as long as Israel maintains the occupation and conducts military operations against Palestinians. Nonetheless, it states "the decision to end resistance belongs to that of the people". PIJ has employed suicide bombing as a tactic in realization that Palestinian military capabilities are outmatched by Israeli sophisticated weaponry. It's objectives are to "maximum zeamount of loss to the Israeli military". PIJ states that their policy is that targeting innocent civilians is prohibited. However, it allows for targeting Israeli civilians in response to Israeli targeting of Palestinian civilians. Nevertheless, PIJ states that in such scenarios they prioritize targeting the Israeli military over targeting civilians. Finally, PIJ states they reject any use of force against non-Israelis. PIJ has also deployed its own rocket, similar to the Qassam rocket used by Hamas, called the al-Quds rocket.

List of attacks

* August 1987: The PIJ claimed responsibility for a shooting that killed the commander of the Israeli military police in the

. * July 1989: Attack of Egged bus 405 along the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway, at least 14 people killed (including two Canadians and one American) and dozens more wounded. Though intended to be a suicide attack, the perpetrator survived. * 4 February 1990: A bus carrying Israeli tourists in Egypt was attacked. The attack left 11 people, including 9 Israelis, dead and 17 others injured. * February 1992: In the Night of the Pitchforks, PIJ members killed three Israeli soldiers asleep in their base, using knives, axes and a pitchfork. * 6 April 1992: An

Israeli Army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...

convoy was ambushed in

Hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...

, South Lebanon. Two soldiers were killed and 5 wounded. The target had been Major-General

Yitzhak Mordechai Yitzhak "Itzik" Mordechai (; born 22 November 1944) is an Israeli former general and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1996 and 2001, and as Minister of Defense and Minister of Transport. He retired from political life ...

, head of Israel's Northern Command, who had left the convoy earlier. Three of the attackers were killed. * December 1993: David Mashrati, an Israeli reserve soldier, was shot and killed by a terrorist at the Holon Junction. The PIJ claimed responsibility for the attack. * April 1994: A PIJ member attacked a group of Israelis waiting for a bus at the city of Ashdod, killing 1 and injuring others. * January 1995: Bomb attack near

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

killing eighteen soldiers and one civilian. * April 1995: Bomb Attack in Netzarim and Kfar Darom. The first bomb killed 8 people including American student, Alisa Flatow, and injured over 30 on an Israel bus; the second attack was a car bomb that injured 12 people. * March 1996: A Tel Aviv shopping mall is the site of another bombing killing 20 and injuring 75. * November 2000: A car bomb in Jerusalem at an outdoor market killed 2 people and injured 10. * March 2002: A bomb killed seven people and injured approximately thirty aboard a bus travelling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth. * June 2002: Eighteen people are killed and fifty injured in an attack at the

Megiddo Junction The Megiddo Junction () is an intersection of Highways 65 and 66 in northern Israel, at the exit from the mountain pass coming up through Wadi Ara into the Jezreel Valley. It is named for the nearby ruins of the biblical city of Megiddo, als ...

. * July 2002: A double attack in Tel Aviv killed five people and injured 40. * November 2002: 12 soldiers and security personnel killed in an ambush in Hebron. Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Propaganda Poster Glorifying Suicide Bomber

Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Propaganda Poster Glorifying Suicide Bomber

* May 2003: Three people killed and eighty-three injured in a suicide bombing at a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

Afula Afula () is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient tell (settlement mound) suggests habit ...

. * August 2003: A bomber killed 21 people and injured more than 100 people on a bus in Jerusalem. * October 2003: PIJ affiliated suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat detonated an

explosive belt An explosive belt (also called suicide belt, suicide vest or bomb vest) is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers. Explosive belts are usually packed with ball ...

inside a restaurant in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, killing 21 Israelis and wounding 60 others. * October 2005: Palestinian

suicide bomber A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

detonated an explosive device in a Hadera market, killing seven people and injuring 55, five of them severely. * April 2006: A bomb in a Tel Aviv eatery killed eleven and injured 70. * January 2007: Both the

al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () are a Fatah-aligned coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Created in 2000 amidst the Second Intifada, the Brigades previously operated as the official armed wing of the F ...

and the PIJ claim responsibility for a suicide bombing at an

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

bakery that killed three. * 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, four 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 ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

) allegedly 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. The Middle East director for

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

Sarah Leah Whitsonn responded, "Using a vehicle with press markings to carry out a military attack is a serious violation of the laws of war, and it also puts journalists at risk." The FPA responded by saying,

Armored vehicles marked with TV are an invaluable protection for genuine journalists working in hostile environments. The FPA has long campaigned for the continued availability of armored vehicles for its members, despite official opposition in some quarters. The abuse of this recognized protection for the working journalist is a grave development and we condemn those that carried it out. Such an incident will reduce the protection offered by marked vehicles.

: During a press conference, an Islamic Jihad spokesperson Abu Ahmed denied that they had put press markings on the jeep used in the attack and said, "The Al-Quds Brigades used an armoured jeep resembling military armoured jeeps used by the Zionist intelligence services." * On 26 March 2009, two Islamic Jihad members were imprisoned for a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

"to murder Israeli pilots and scientists using booby-trapped toy cars". * On 15 November 2012, Islamic Jihad fired two Fajr-5s at Tel Aviv from Gaza, one landing in an uninhabited area of the suburbs and the other in the sea. * On 24 June 2013, six rockets were fired into Israel; major news outlets reported that the Islamic Jihad were behind the attacks. * In March 2014 over 100 rockets were launched into southern Israel by PIJ and other Islamist groups. On 14 March Shalah announced that the attack was coordinated with

. * PIJ participated in the Hamas-led 7 October attacks into Israel, the impetus of the ongoing Gaza war, and has fought alongside Hamas and other allied Palestinian factions in subsequent battles inside the Gaza Strip.

Social services

Islamic Jihad also control dozens of religious organizations in the

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

that are registered as NGOs and operate

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s, schools, and medical facilities that offer free services. Palestinian civil society: foreign donors and the power to promote and exclude
. Benoît Challand. p. 67-69. Like other Islamic associations, these are heavily scrutinized by the

who have shut some of them down. In one Islamic Jihad kindergarten graduation, children dressed up in military uniforms, waved guns, shouted anti-Israel slogans, and spoke of blowing themselves up to kill "Zionists". Islamic Jihad also operates dozens of summer camps for children. They have opened up 51 summer camps which attracted approximately 10,000 children in 2010.

We teach the children the truth. How the Jews persecuted the prophets and tortured them. We stress that the Jews killed and slaughtered Arabs and Palestinians every chance they got. Most important, the children understand that the conflict with the Jews is not over land, but rather over religion. As long as Jews remain here, between the ordanriver and the sea, they will be our enemy and we will continue to pursue and kill them. When they leave we won't hurt them.

Notable PIJ members

Secretaries-General

3rd International Conference on Quds and Protecting the Rights of the Palestinian People 16

Ali Khamenei met with Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh03

* Fathi Shaqaqi: founder of PIJ, 1981–1995, assassinated by

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

gunmen. * Ramadan Shalah: founder of PIJ, 1995–2018. * Ziyad al-Nakhalah: 2018–present.

Other members

* Mahmoud Tawalbe: senior leader in

, killed during

Operation Defensive Shield Operation Defensive Shield ( ) was a 2002 Israeli military operation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the Second Intifada. Lasting for just over a month, it was the largest combat operation in the territory since the 1967 Arab–Israe ...

by an

IDF Caterpillar D9 The IDF Caterpillar D9 — nicknamed ''Doobi'' (, for teddy bear) — is a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It is supplied by Caterpillar Inc. and modified by the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Milita ...

, 2002. * Mahmoud Seader: leader in

. * Hanadi Jaradat: female

, committed the Maxim restaurant suicide bombing, 4 October 2003. * Mohammed Dadouh: senior commander in Gaza, assassinated by Israeli missile, 21 May 2006. * Mahmoud al-Majzoub: member of the

Shura Council In Arab culture, a Majlis-ash-Shura (; Shura Council in English) is an advisory council or consultative council. In Islamic context, the Majlis-ash-Shura is one of two ways that a khalifa (Islamic leader) may be selected, the other way being b ...

, killed by car bomb, 26 May 2006. * Husam Jaradat: senior commander in

, cousin of Hanadi Jaradat, assassinated in the Jenin refugee quarters, 30 August 2006. * Ayman al-Fayed: senior commander of

, assassinated in a blast in the Bureij refugee camp, 16 February 2008. * Ziad Abu-Tir: senior member of the military wing was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the

Khan Younis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan ...

area, 29 December 2008. * Khaled Shalan: senior commander killed by an Israeli missile strike on his car in Gaza, 4 March 2009. * Baha Abu al-Ata: leader killed by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza, 12 November 2019. * Akram al-Ajouri: leader who survived an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, 12 November 2019, but his son and daughter were killed. * Khaled al-Batsh: current PIJ leader in the Gaza Strip. * Tayseer Jabari: military leader who succeeded Baha Abu al-Ata, killed on 5 August 2022 during

Operation Breaking Dawn Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. * Khaled Mansour: southern command chief, killed on 6 August 2022 during Operation Breaking Dawn. * Jihad Shaker Al Ghannam: southern command chief, killed in May 2023 * Sameh Fahim Hashem Al Mamluk: head of the rocket squad in the northern Gaza strip, killed on 11 May 2021 during 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis. * Mohammad Yahya Abu-Al-Ata : brother of Baha Abu al-Ata, deputy commander of the Gaza Brigades, killed on 11 May 2021 during 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis. * Tarek Ezzedine : PIJ commander in Judea and Samaria, killed on 9 May 2023 during Operation Shield and Arrow * Abu Hamza (spokesperson) : Saraya Al Quds spokesman, killed together with his wife on 17th March 2025. * Muhammad Abu Sakhil: Head of milltary operation in Gaza Strip replacing Iyad Al Husni who was killed on May 2023, killed with his son on 11th November 2024.

History and background

Ideology, motives and beliefs

Activities

Militant activities

List of attacks

Social services

Notable PIJ members

Secretaries-General

Other members

See also

Notes

References

Further reading