Al-Quds Brigades

This article is about the group in Palestine. For other groups with similar names, see Jerusalem Brigades.

Al-Quds Brigades
سرايا القدس
SpokesmanAbu Hamza
Dates of operation1981 (1981)–present
MotivesThe establishment of a sovereign, Islamic Palestinian state within the geographic borders of pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine
Active regionsGaza Strip, West Bank, Southern Lebanon
IdeologyPalestinian nationalism
Islamism
Jihadism
Anti-Zionism
StatusActive
Size12,000 [citation needed]
AlliesState allies:
 Iran
 Syria[1]
Non-state allies:
Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine National Resistance Brigades
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades
 Hezbollah
Opponents Israel
Websitesaraya.ps

Al-Quds Brigades (Arabic: سرايا القدس, Sarāyā al-Quds meaning "Jerusalem Brigades") is a paramilitary organisation and the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist[2][3] organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),[4] which is the second largest armed group in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas.[5] AQB's leader is Ziyad al-Nakhalah, based in Damascus, Syria.[6] The head of AQB in the Gaza Strip was Baha Abu al-Ata[5] until he was killed in November 2019.[7]

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.[3] The PIJ is majority funded by Iran and Syria.[8][9]

  1. ^ Sami Moubayed (28 February 2020). "Islamic Jihad rises with Iranian-Syrian support". Middle East Online. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ANS-indiscriminateTerrorAttacks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ICEJ-terropristsLeader_killed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Guitta, Olivier (4 January 2009). "The Next Dangerous Phase of the Gaza War". Middle East Times. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  5. ^ a b Ahronheim, Anna (3 November 2019). "Who is Abu al-Ata: The man behind rocket fire from Gaza Strip". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  6. ^ IDF: Islamic Jihad 'deliberately' fired rocket that landed offshore
  7. ^ Holmes, Oliver (12 November 2019). "Israel strikes on Islamic Jihad chiefs prompt reprisal rocket attacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  8. ^ Mannes, Aaron (2004). Profiles in Terror: The Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 201.
  9. ^ THE TERRORIST CONNECTION - IRAN, THE ISLAMIC JIHAD AND HAMAS