The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

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

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...

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

Alliance of Palestinian Forces The Alliance of Palestinian Forces ( ar, تحالف القوى الفلسطينية, abbreviated APF) is a loose Damascus-based alliance of eight Palestinian political factions. The Alliance was created in Damascus in December 1993 by ten Palesti ...

, which rejects the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

and whose objective is the establishment of a sovereign

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

Palestinian state.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 to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotia ...

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

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

. Since 2014, PIJ has seen its power steadily increase with the backing of funds from Iran. The armed wing of PIJ is

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 St ...

, also formed in 1981, which is active in 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 ...

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.. ...

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

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

and Jenin. Its operations have included

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 ...

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

terrorist organisation 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 the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.

History and background

Flag of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine

PIJ was formally established in Gaza in 1981 by two Palestinian activists: Dr 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, Shaqaqi and Awda were originally members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Their views on the destruction of Israel, however, led them in 1979 to establish Islamic Jihad-Shaqaqi Faction, a branch of the

Egyptian Islamic Jihad The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ, ar, الجهاد الإسلامي المصري), formerly called simply Islamic Jihad ( ar, الجهاد الإسلامي, links=no) and the Liberation Army for Holy Sites, originally referred to as al-Jihad, and ...

. and conducted operations out of Egypt. The Shaqaqi Faction was expelled from Egypt in 1981 following the assassination of Egypt's President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

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,

state within the geographic borders of pre-1948

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. 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 ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. 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 )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, 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, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, and

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

. PIJ masterminded several

s in Israel, the first one being the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack in 1989 which resulted in 16 civilian deaths. (See

List of Palestinian suicide attacks This article contains lists of Palestinian suicide attacks carried out by Palestinian individuals and militant groups, usually against Israeli civilian targets. The use of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations is illegal under internat ...

.) Shaqaqi was a key player in setting up the

in January 1994, a coalition of eight PLO groups, Islamic Jihad and Hamas, rejecting the Oslo process. PIJ was and continues to be considered by Israel the most extreme organization in its operational methods and commitment to the destruction of Israel. By 1995 PIJ was, according to Fisk, "perhaps the fiercest of all Israel's modern-day enemies." Shaqaqi was assassinated in 1995 in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and Ramadan Shalah became secretary-general of the organisation. There was a subsequent crackdown on the PIJ by Israel and the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

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 research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

computer engineering Computer engineering (CoE or CpE) is a branch of electrical engineering and computer science that integrates several fields of computer science and electronic engineering required to develop computer hardware and software. Computer engineers ...

professor

Sami Al-Arian Sami Amin Al-Arian ( ar, سامي أمين العريان; born January 14, 1958) is a Kuwaiti-born Islamist and political activist of unverified Palestinian origin who was a computer engineering professor at University of South Florida. Durin ...

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, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...

alleged at a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

that Al-Arian was the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

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 plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

. 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—a group of citizens—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 pe ...

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

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

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. Following further terrorist attacks on civilians in Israel, Shalah and Awda were 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 on the United States. Initially, the list contained 22 of t ...

list. In February 2012, the

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 ...

government in the Gaza Strip distanced itself from PIJ. During the

March 2012 Gaza–Israel clashes Operation Returning Echo (מבצע הד חוזר) was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military operation in the Gaza Strip from March 9 until March 14, 2012. It was the worst outbreak of violence covered by the media in the region since the 2 ...

, which followed the Israeli assassination of

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 ...

leader, Zuhir al-Qaisi, who bragged of kidnapping

Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit ( he-a, גלעד שליט, Shalit.ogg, ''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 tu ...

, 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 Israel did not attack any Hamas targets at the time. The eventual ceasefire was negotiated between Israel and the militant groups, not Hamas. London-based Arabic newspaper ''

Asharq al-Awsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, Aš-Šarq al-ʾAwsaṭ, 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 f ...

'' reported in May 2015 that Iran had stopped funding PIJ due to the group's neutrality over the

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Saudi may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is c ...

, 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'' 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 a delegation from the World Federation of Scientists in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, Syria, on 15 December 2009. In the interview, he argued that the Israelis will accept neither a two state nor a one state solution and that the only choice is to continue the 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 Khaled Mashal ( ar, خالد مشعل, Khālid Mashʿal, Levantine Arabic: , born 28 May 1956) is a former leader of the Palestinian organization Hamas. After the founding of Hamas in 1987, Mashal became the leader of the Kuwaiti branch of th ...
and Ramadan Shalah can come whenever they want, and visit Haifa, and buy a home in
Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...
h if they want, then we can have a new language, and dialogue is possible."

The group is a Sunni Jhadist movement but includes other religious beliefs.

Activities

Militant activities

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for many militant activities over the years. The organization is responsible for a number of attacks including more than 30 suicide bombings; indeed, on 22 December 2001, PIJ vowed to continue its campaign despite Hamas' decision to halt suicide bombings inside Israel in response to an alleged crackdown by

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

. PIJ's representative in Lebanon, Abu Imad Al-Rifai noted, "Our position is to continue. We have no other choice. We are not willing to compromise." The international community considers the use of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations and the use of

human shields A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...

as illegal under international law. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad have claimed responsibility for the following attacks:

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

Night of the Pitchforks The Night of the Pitchforks ( he, ליל הקילשונים, ''Leil HaKilshonim''), refers to an incident that took place on February 14, 1992, in which Israeli Arab militants from the Wadi Ara area, members of Islamic Jihad, infiltrated into an ...

, killed three Israeli soldiers asleep in their base, using knives, axes and a pitchfork * 6 April 1992: an

Israeli Army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...

convoy was ambushed in

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

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

Yitzhak Mordechai Yitzhak "Itzik" Mordechai ( he, יצחק מרדכי, 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 retire ...

, head of Israel’s Northern Command. But he had left the convoy earlier. Three of the attackers were killed. * December 1993: Killed an Israeli reservist, David Mashrati, during a public bus shooting. * April 1994: A car bomb aboard a public bus killed 9 people and injured 50. * January 1995: Bomb attack near

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

killing eighteen soldiers and one civilian. * April 1995: Bomb Attack in

Netzarim Netzarim ( he, נְצָרִים) was an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip about 5 kilometers southwest of Gaza City. It was established in 1972. In August 2005, the inhabitants of Netzarim were evicted by the Israel Defense Forces as part o ...

and

Kfar Darom Kfar Darom ( he, כְּפַר דָּרוֹם, ''lit.'' South Village), was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip. History Kfar Darom was founded on 250 dunams of land (about 25 hectares or 60 acres) pu ...

. The first bomb killed 8 people including American student,

Alisa Flatow The Kfar Darom bus attack was a 1995 suicide attack on an Israeli bus carrying civilians and soldiers to Kfar Darom, an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip. The attack killed seven Israeli soldiers and one American civilian. The Shaqaqi factio ...

, 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 (, ''Tzomet Megido'') 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 cit ...

. * 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. * 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 North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

Afula Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) 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 ...

. * August 2003: A bomber killed 21 people and injured more than 100 people on a bus in Jerusalem. * October 2003: A bomb killed 22 and injured 60 at a Haifa restaurant. * October 2005: A bomb detonated in a Hadera market was responsible for 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 () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. L ...

and the PIJ claim responsibility for a suicide bombing at an

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy 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 ...

bakery that killed three. * June 2007, in a failed assault on an IDF position at the

Kissufim crossing Gush Katif ( he, גוש קטיף, , Harvest Bloc) was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. In August 2005, the Israeli army forcibly removed the 8,600 residents of Gush Katif from their homes after a decision from the C ...

between Gaza and Israel in a possible attempt to kidnap IDF soldiers, four 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 St ...

(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 ...

) 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, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

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, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

"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

. Islamic Jihad has also deployed its own rocket, similar to the Qassam rocket used by Hamas, called the

al-Quds rocket The al-Quds 101 Rocket is a homemade artillery rocket made and used by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for use in attacks against Israel. The al-Quds 101 is most likely similar to the Qassam rocket series used by Hamas. On February 11, 2006, Isl ...

Social services

Islamic Jihad also control dozens of religious organizations 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 ...

that are registered as NGOs and operate

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

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

Fathi Shaqaqi Fathi Shaqaqi ( ar, فتحي الشقاقي; 4 January 1951 – 26 October 1995) was the founder and Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. Early life and career Fathi Shaqaqi was born to a refugee family of eight child ...

: founder of PIJ, 1981–1995, assassinated by

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

gunmen. * Ramadan Shalah: founder of PIJ, 1995–2018. *

Ziyad al-Nakhalah Ziyad al-Nakhalah ( ar, زياد نخالة; April 6, 1953) is a Palestinian Islamic militant, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) since 28 September 2018, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States, the Euro ...

: 2018–present.

Other members

Mahmoud Tawalbe Mahmoud Tawalbe ( ar, محمود طوالبة; c. 1979 - 2002) was the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jenin, one of the main strongholds of the terrorist organization. Tawalbe was involved in many attacks against Israelis but he was b ...

: senior leader in Jenin, killed during Operation Defensive Shield by an

IDF Caterpillar D9 The IDF Caterpillar D9 —nicknamed ''Doobi'' ( he, דובי, for teddy bear) — is a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Israeli armored CAT D9 was heavily modified by the Israel Defense Forces, Isra ...

, 2002. *

Mahmoud Seader Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born ...

: leader in

. *

Hanadi Jaradat Hanadi Tayseer Abdul Malek Jaradat ( ar, هنادي تيسير عبدالمالك جرادات) (September 22, 1975 – October 4, 2003), a Palestinian militant from Jenin, blew herself up on Saturday, October 4, 2003 in a suicide attack on M ...

: female

suicide bomber 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 ...

, committed the

Maxim restaurant suicide bombing The Maxim restaurant suicide bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on October 4, 2003 in the beachfront "Maxim" restaurant in Haifa, Israel. Twenty-one people were killed in the attack and 60 were injured. Among the victims were two fami ...

, 4 October 2003. * Mohammed Dadouh: senior commander in Gaza, assassinated by Israeli missile, 21 May 2006. * Mahmoud al-Majzoub: member of the Shura Council, killed by car bomb, 26 May 2006. * Husam Jaradat: senior commander in Jenin, 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 ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: ''Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142 ...

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 Baha Abu al-Ata ( ar, بهاء أبو العطا; 25 November 1977 – 12 November 2019) was a leader of Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ). On 12 November 2019, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) killed Abu al-Ata and his wife in a target ...

: leader killed by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza, 12 November 2019. *

Akram al-Ajouri Akram al-Ajouri ( ar, أكرم العجوري) is a leader of Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ) . Al-Ajouri is based in Damascus and was unsuccessfully targeted in an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) airstrike on November 12, 2019, on the s ...

: 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-Ma ...

. * Khaled Mansour: southern command chief, killed on 6 August 2022 during Operation Breaking Dawn.