The Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades ( ar, كتائب ابو علي مصطفى '')'' is the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

(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 ...

, Gaza and

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

History

Originally named the Red Eagles Brigades, they were renamed in 2001 after

Abu Ali Mustafa Abu Ali Mustafa (; ar, أبو علي مصطفى; 1938 – 27 August 2001), the kunya of Mustafa Alhaj also known as Mustafa Ali Zabri, was a Palestinian militant who served as the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Pa ...

, PFLP's leader, who was killed by Israel in August 2001. They were active with attacks on both military and civilian

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 ...

i targets during the al-Aqsa Intifada. On 16 July 2007, Palestinian president

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...

requested that all Palestinian resistance groups relinquish their weapons to 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,

. Although several members 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 armed wing Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades complied, the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades rejected this, stating that they will not cease their resistance until the Israelis withdraw from all parts of the

and 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 Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades fought in the

2021 Israel–Palestine crisis A major outbreak of violence in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict commenced on 10 May 2021, though disturbances took place earlier, and continued until a ceasefire came into effect on 21 May. It was marked by protests and police riot ...

Attacks carried out by the Brigades

The PFLP's Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Some of these attacks are: * The killing of Meir Lixenberg
councilor and head of security
in four settlements, who was shot while traveling in his car in the

on 27 August 2001. * The 17 October 2001 assassination of right-wing Israeli politician and Israeli Minister for Tourism

Rehavam Zeevi Rehavam Ze'evi ( he, רחבעם זאבי ; 20 June 1926 – 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general and politician who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer. He was assassinated by Hamdi Quran ...

, the only Israeli politician to have been assassinated in the Al-Aqsa Intifada. * A suicide bombing in a pizzeria in Karnei Shomron in the West Bank, on 16 February 2002, killing three Israelis. * A suicide bombing in

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

on 7 March 2002, which left wounded but no fatalities. * A suicide bombing in a Netanya market in Israel, on 19 May 2002, killing three Israelis. This attack was also claimed by

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-Qassam Bri ...

, but the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades have identified the perpetrator on their website as one of their members. * A suicide bombing in the bus station at

Geha Junction The Geha Interchange is the confluence of Highway 4 and Road 481 in Israel. The interchange is named after the Geha Mental Health Center, which was once located near the Interchange. but was moved when it was decided to construct the Interchange. ...

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

on 25 December 2003 which killed 4 Israelis. * A suicide bombing in Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council on 22 May 2004, which left no fatalities. * A suicide bombing in the

Carmel Market Carmel Market ( he, שוק הכרמל, ''Shuk HaCarmel'') is an outdoor marketplace in Tel Aviv, Israel. History The Carmel market was established in the 1920s.Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

on 1 November 2004, which killed 3 Israelis. * The killing of four Israelis and another eight injured at a synagogue in West Jerusalem on 18 November 2014. * A rocket attack which struck

Sha'ar HaNegev The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית שער הנגב, ''Mo'atza Azorit Sha'ar HaNegev'', ''lit.'' Gate of the Negev Regional Council), is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. ...

, on 26 June 2017, caused no injuries or damage.

Foreign support

The PFLP, and by extension the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades, receive military and financial support by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. This relationship probably began around 2013, and although the actual extent of this support is unclear, the PFLP and Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades have repeatedly declared themselves allies of Iran and the Axis of Resistance.

References

{{reflist 1967 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate Arab nationalism in the Palestinian territories Arab nationalist militant groups Communism in the Palestinian territories Marxist parties Military wings of communist parties Military wings of nationalist parties One-state solution Palestinian militant groups Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Secularism in the State of Palestine Axis of Resistance

History

Attacks carried out by the Brigades

Foreign support

See also

References