BICOM

Who are they? Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organisation based in Gaza, but with headquarters in Damascus. It is second only to Hamas in size and importance in the Gaza Strip, but is considered by the IDF as a more volatile group with more extreme views and it isn’t responsible for the provision of any social services for Gazans.

• The group was founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. It aims to destroy Israel and implement an Islamic Palestinian state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean.
• It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others
• It is sponsored by Iran, with a report in Ynet last March assessing that this amounts to financial support of more than $30 million per year
• PIJ has between 10,000-15,000 fighters, compared to Hamas’s 25,000-30,000. The combined Hamas-PIJ missile arsenal is over 10,000, a majority short and mid-range, and a majority belonging to the PIJ.
• The group is also active in the West Bank, supporting and carrying out terrorist activities

Current and past activity: PIJ have been responsible for violent activities spanning decades, including the deliberate targeting of civilians in suicide bombings and missile attacks.

• Attacks in the 1990s included a suicide bombing at a mall in Tel Aviv, killing 13, and a suicide bombing in the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, killing 20
• PIJ plays a key role in the weekly Gaza marches on the Israel border, including violent actions such as sniper fire on Israeli forces in January 2019
• PIJ played a major role in rocket attacks on Israel in May this year, when over 700 rockets were fired at Israel and in October and November 2018 when over 450 missiles were fired at Israel last year.

Relations with Hamas: PIJ coordinates militarily with Hamas and run a joint operations room, although relations have been strained in the past, particularly during the early stages of the Syrian civil war, when relations between Hamas and Iran deteriorated as a result of the former’s refusal to back Assad, and more recently during the Egypt-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas earlier this year.