Al-Quds Brigades

Al-Quds Brigades
سرايا القدس
Leader(s) ?
Dates of operation 1981 (1981)-present
Motives The establishment of a sovereign, Islamic Palestinian state within the geographic borders of pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine
Active region(s) Gaza Strip, West Bank, Southern Lebanon
Ideology Palestinian nationalism
Islamism
Anti-Zionism
Status Active
Size 12,000
Website saraya.ps

Al-Quds Brigades (Arabic: سرايا القدس‎‎, Saraya al-Quds meaning Jerusalem Brigades) is the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist[1][2] organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),[3] which is majority funded by Iran.[4][5] Especially active in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the al-Quds Brigades were founded in 1981 by Fathi Shaqaqi and Abd Al Aziz Awda in Gaza.[1]

The al-Quds Brigades were very active in the West Bank, especially in the town of Jenin, but extensive operations against its infrastructures carried out by the IDF resulted in severe losses to the group, and it appeared significantly weakened by 2004 in that region.[1][2]

On March 1, 2006 Abu al-Walid al-Dahdouh, a commander of the group's military wing, was targeted and killed by a bomb or missile as he drove past the Palestinian finance ministry. On August 30, 2006 the West Bank leader of the Islamic Jihad's military wing, al-Quds Brigades, Hussam Jaradat, was shot and killed by undercover Israel Defense Forces in the city of Jenin.[2]

In the Gaza Strip, the al-Quds Brigades continued to fight militarily,[6] e.g. by indiscriminate al-Quds rocket-attacks out of populated civilian areas.[1][7][8] The al-Quds Brigades promote the military destruction of Israel, e.g. indiscriminate rocket and mortar fire or suicide bombings.[1] The international community considers the use of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations[9] and the use of human shields[10][11][12] as illegal under international law.[13]

Their cause is the establishment of an Islamic state and to settle Palestinians to what the brigades consider 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.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- al-Quds Brigades". Australian National Security. Australian Attorney-General's Department. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "IDF uncovers massive tunnel near Gaza fence Four terrorists killed in Gaza City clashes". icej.org. The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Olivier Guit (January 4, 2009). "The Next Dangerous Phase of the Gaza War". Middle East Times. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  4. ↑ Mannes, Aaron (2004). Profiles in Terror: The Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 201.
  5. ↑ THE TERRORIST CONNECTION - IRAN, THE ISLAMIC JIHAD AND HAMAS
  6. ↑ Martinez, Michael, and Talal Abu Rahma, and Kareem Khadder. "Israel fires on 29 'terror sites' after rockets from Gaza hit populated areas". cnn.com. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Hirshfeld, Rachel. "Video: Jihadists Firing from Residential Zones, Proud of It". israelnationalnews.com. Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Schwartz, Sharona. "World ‘Human Shields’: Video and Photo Appear to Show Terror Group Firing Rockets at Israel from Densely Populated Area". theblaze.com. TheBlaze Inc. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Kurz, Robert W.; Charles K. Bartles (2007). "Chechen suicide bombers" (PDF). Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Routledge. 20: 529–547. doi:10.1080/13518040701703070. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Hamas Caught Using Human Shields in Gaza". idfblog.com. Israel Defense Forces. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  11. ↑ ERLANGER, STEVEN, and FARES AKRAM. "Israel Warns Gaza Targets by Phone and Leaflet". nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Tag: Human Shield". idfblog.com. Israel Defense Forces. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Protection of the civilian population". Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977. International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
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