The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a
coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the
West Bank. 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, the
European Union,
Canada,
Japan,
New Zealand,
and the
United States.
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 (IDF), led the
government of Israel to draw the conclusion that the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have always been directly funded by
Yasser Arafat. 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
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
in 14 January 2002 in
Tulkarm.
*
Naif Abu-Sharah: local commander in
Nablus (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
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ar, سرحان بشارة سرحان ''Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān'', born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian Jordanian man who was convicted for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Kennedy, a United States Sena ...
: 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
Zakaria Muhammad 'Abdelrahman Zubeidi ( ar, زكريا محمد عبد الرحمن الزبيدي; other spellings include Zakariyah Zbeidi, Zacharia and Zubaidi) (born 1976) is the former Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
He is con ...
: local commander in
Jenin, known for his relationship with Israeli
far left activist
Tali Fahima
Tali Fahima ( ar, طالي فحيمة, he, טלי פחימה); born 8 February 1976) is an Israeli of Algerian Jewish origin, pro-Palestinian activist who was convicted for her contacts with Zakaria Zubeidi, Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' ...
.
*
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, killed in August 2022.
Militant activities
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are responsible for numerous attacks in the
West Bank, 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). In February 2004 Shakaa filed his resignation from office in protest of the
Palestinian Authority'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 fla ...
'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 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 adopted ...
and
chaos
Chaos or CHAOS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements
* Chaos (''Kinnikuman'')
* Chaos (''Sailor Moon'')
* Chaos (''Sesame Park'')
* Chaos (''Warhammer'')
* Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy''
* Cha ...
.
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-Qassam Br ...
. These attacks were committed mainly in the
Gaza Strip. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have also carried out joint attack with other militant groups such as
Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
The 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 ...
and with
Hezbollah in the
West Bank.
The
European Union'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
Al-Quds Brigades (AQB) ( ar, سرايا القدس, ''Saraya al-Quds'' meaning '' Jerusalem Brigades'') is the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which is the second largest group in the Gaza ...
– 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 ri ...
.
On 14 July 2007,
Zakaria Zubeidi
Zakaria Muhammad 'Abdelrahman Zubeidi ( ar, زكريا محمد عبد الرحمن الزبيدي; other spellings include Zakariyah Zbeidi, Zacharia and Zubaidi) (born 1976) is the former Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
He is con ...
, considered the local al-Aqsa leader for
Jenin 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, 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
Ofra ( he, עֹפְרָה) is an Israeli settlement located in the northern West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus (Route 60), it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In it had a population ...
, 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
Beit Yisrael ( he, בית ישראל, lit. ) is a predominantly Haredi neighborhood in central Jerusalem. It is located just north of Mea Shearim on Ha-Rav Zonenfeld St 13.
The name Beit Yisrael is taken from the verse in Ezekiel , in which Ez ...
,
Jerusalem – 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 – 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-Qassam Br ...
).
*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
An explosive belt (also called suicide belt or a suicide 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 bearings, ...
. Following his arrest, an al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade teenagers' militant cell was exposed and arrested in
Nablus. 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 Israeli ...
, where a gunman shot five people dead in the
Ultra-Orthodox
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
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 2.74 squ ...
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 l ...
, 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 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 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'', 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'', 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
*
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
Even before the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, various Insurgent, militant Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian (Palestinian resistance) groups built domestically-produced weapons for Palestinian political violence, attacks against Israel. Mo ...
References
External links
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades website(Arabic)
Council on Foreign Relations. Terrorism Q&A: al-Aqsa Martyrs BrigadesProfile: al-Aqsa Martyrs' BrigadeThe 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 AuthorityBBC: Palestinian Authority Funds go to Militants
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
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