Country Report on Terrorism 2022 - Chapter 5 - Palestine Islamic Jihad

Aka PIJ; PIJ-Shaqaqi Faction; PIJ-Shallah Faction; Islamic Jihad of Palestine; Islamic Jihad in Palestine; Abu Ghunaym Squad of the Hizballah Bayt al-Maqdis; al-Quds Squads; al-Quds Brigades; Saraya al-Quds; al-Awdah Brigades.

Description:  Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was designated as an FTO on October 8, 1997.  Formed by militant Palestinians in Gaza during the 1970s, PIJ is committed to the destruction of Israel and to the creation of an Islamic state in historic Palestine, including present-day Israel.

Activities:  PIJ has conducted numerous attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets, including 2014 attacks on Israeli buses in Tel Aviv and a 2016 plot to abduct and kill an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier and carry out a mass-casualty attack on a reception hall in Beersheba.  Over the past decade, PIJ has carried out waves of rocket attacks into Israeli territory.  In August, PIJ launched more than 1,000 rockets toward Israel during a deadly three-day clash that ended in a ceasefire brokered by Egypt.  PIJ’s two most senior commanders, Tayseer Jabari and Khaled Mansour, were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the fighting.

Strength:  PIJ is estimated to have a thousand to several thousand members.

Location/Area of Operation:  Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

Funding and External Aid:  PIJ receives financial assistance and training primarily from Iran.  PIJ has partnered with Iran- and Syria-sponsored Hizballah to carry out joint operations.

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