Al-Quds Brigades (AQB) ( ar, سرايا القدس, ''Saraya al-Quds'' meaning ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Brigades'') is the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which is the second largest group in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas. AQB's leader is

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 ...

, based 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 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 ...

. The head of AQB in 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.. ...

was Baha Abu al-Ata until he was killed in November 2019. AQB's parent organization, PIJ, is devoted to the establishment of an Islamic state, and the settlement of Palestinians in what it considers their rightful homeland within the geographic borders of the pre-1948 British-mandated Palestine. It refuses to participate in political processes or negotiations about a swap of Israeli and Palestinian settlements. The PIJ is majority

funded Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm uses ...

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 ...

History

Al-Quds Brigades was founded in 1981 by Fathi Shaqaqi and Abd Al Aziz Awda in Gaza, and has been 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

, especially in the town of

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...

. Awda was designated a " Specially Designated Terrorist" by United States on 23 January 1995, and Shiqaqi was assassinated 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 ...

on 26 October 1995. The group undertook numerous attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings; and has suffered extensive operations against its infrastructure carried out by the

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

(IDF), which resulted in severe losses to the group, and it appeared significantly weakened by 2004. On 1 March 2006, Abu al-Walid al-Dahdouh, an AQB commander, was targeted and killed by an

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 air strike in

Gaza City Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, i ...

as he drove past the Palestinian finance ministry. On 30 August 2006, the AQB West Bank leader, Hussam Jaradat, was shot and killed by undercover IDF in Jenin on 30 August 2006. In the Gaza Strip, al-Quds Brigades continued its militant activities, including the indiscriminate firing of

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 ...

attacks out of populated civilian areas. Al-Quds Brigades promotes the military destruction of Israel, including the indiscriminate firing of rocket, mortar fire and suicide bombings. 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 ...

illegal under international law. In March 2014, over 100 rockets were launched into southern Israel by PIJ and other Islamist groups. On 14 March,

Ramadan Shalah Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed Shalah ( ar, رمضان عبد الله محمد شلح) (1 January 1958 – 6 June 2020) was the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) between 27 October 1995 and 2018. PIJ has been designated a terrorist organi ...

, the then leader of PIJ, announced that the attack was coordinated 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 Bri ...

. Baha Abu al-Ata, the head of AQB in the Gaza Strip, was killed in a targeted killing in Gaza City on 12 November 2019, allegedly after having given orders for the launching of rockets into Israel. At the same time, Syrian media reported that another senior PIJ commander,

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 ...

, survived an airstrike in Damascus, but his son and daughter were killed. The next day, AQB launched more than 220 rockets into southern and central Israel, and on the next day the IDF struck several PIJ targets in the Gaza Strip killing two Palestinians, identified as 38-year-old Khaled Moawad Faraj, AQB's field commander, and 32-year-old Alaa Ashtyawu. Later that day, three more AQB members were killed in an

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

airstrike while attempting to launch rockets into Israel. A ceasefire was agreed for 14 November, by which time AQB had launched over 400 rockets into Israel and a total of 36 Palestinians had been killed, including 25 members of PIJ or other factions in the Strip.IDF remains on high alert as rockets threaten cease fire
/ref> This time, Hamas made no effort to stand with or assist PIJ.

References

External links

سرايا القدس (Saraya al-Quds)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quds Jihadist groups Military wings of political parties Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Palestinian militant groups Military units and formations established in 1981 1981 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate Axis of Resistance