Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين
Also known as	Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Founder	Abd Al Aziz Awda Fathi Shaqaqi
Leader	Fathi Shaqaqi (1981–1995) X Ramadan Shalah (1995–2018) Ziyad al-Nakhalah (2018–present)
Dates of operation	October 1981 – present
Split from	Muslim Brotherhood
Country	Palestine
Active regions	Gaza Strip and Lebanon
Ideology	Palestinian nationalism Islamic nationalism Sunni Islamism Anti-Zionism Anti-imperialism[1]
Size	8,000 (2011)[2]
Part of	Palestinian Joint Operations Room Alliance of Palestinian Forces Axis of Resistance
Allies	State allies:  Iran[3] Syria[4] (until 2024)[a] Non-state allies:  Hezbollah[3]  Hamas  PFLP  DFLP
Opponents	Israel  Palestinian Authority
Designated as a terrorist group by	Australia  Canada  European Union  Israel  New Zealand  United Kingdom  United States
Flag

The Islamic Jihad's Movement in Palestine (Arabic: حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn), simply known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamist terrorist organization. It was formed in 1981.

PIJ is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. They reject the Oslo Accords. Their goal is to help create an independent Islamic Palestinian state.^[5] It supports the military destruction of Israel and rejects a two-state solution. They have been supported by Syria and Hezbollah.^[6][7] Their power began to grow faster in 2014 as Iran's support grew.^[8]

Notes

1. Ba'athist Syria lost its territory and was dissolved in December 2024

References

1. Skare, Erik (2021). A history of Palestinian Islamic Jihad : faith, awareness, and revolution in the Middle East. Cambridge, United Kingdom. pp. 39–43. ISBN 978-1-108-95444-0. OCLC 1196822773.
2. Ben Gedalyahu, Ben (7 November 2011). "Iran Backs Islamic Jihad's 8,000-Man Army in Gaza". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
3. "IRAN UPDATE, OCTOBER 30, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
4. Rudoren, Jodi (3 May 2014). "Islamic Jihad Gains New Traction in Gaza". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
5. BBC Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Who are Islamic Jihad? 9 June 2003
6. "THE TERRORIST CONNECTION - IRAN, THE ISLAMIC JIHAD AND HAMAS". fas.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
7. "Australian Government Attorneys General's Department - Palestinian Islamic Jihad". 20 August 2006. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
8. "The Gaza Strip: Who's in charge?". The Economist. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2017.