OVERVIEW

The Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is a Sunni Islamist militant group that is committed to destroying Israel and establishing an Islamist Palestinian state. PIJ was founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and is the second-largest militant group in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after HAMAS. PIJ has drawn inspiration from the Iranian Revolution and receives support from Iran and Lebanese Hizballah.

PIJ’s military wing, al-Quds Brigades, has been responsible for many attacks on Israeli targets since the 1990s. PIJ sometimes operates in coordination with HAMAS, including in the HAMAS-led surprise attack against Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people on 7 October 2023. In the ensuing conflict between Israel and HAMAS, Israeli operations partially degraded PIJ. Historically, PIJ has occasionally disagreed with HAMAS’s strategy for confronting Israel and tends to be more willing to act militarily, which has led to tensions.

OPERATING AREAS
Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank; maintains a presence in Lebanon and Syria and offices in Iran

MEMBERS
Approximately 4,000 fighters

TACTICS AND TARGETS
PIJ primarily conducts small-arms, mortar, and rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip against Israeli targets in Israel and the West Bank. The group also has MANPADS, armed unmanned aircraft systems, antitank guided missiles, and IEDs. PIJ conducted suicide bombings from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s.

TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATION
The US State Department designated PIJ as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 and designated PIJ Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhalah as a specially designated global terrorist in 2014.