(New York, NY) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is releasing a new resource that details the origins, beliefs and violent history of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a Palestinian Islamist terrorist group sponsored by Iran and Syria.
Founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood by Fathi Shaqaqi and Abd al-Aziz Awda, PIJ is dedicated to eradicating Israel and establishing an autonomous Islamic Palestinian state in the lands currently comprising Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Next to Hamas, PIJ is the second largest terror group operating from Gaza today. PIJ believes that the existence of Israel is an affront to God and Islam and that Palestine’s re-conquest is a holy task. Thus, PIJ rejects a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and unlike Hamas, does not participate in the political process or provide social services.
During the 2012 war between Israel and Hamas, PIJ fired rockets into Israeli territory and hung banners across Gaza streets with the phrase, “Thank you, Iran.” A February 2014 report by Ali Nourizadeh, director of the Center for Iranian Studies in London, stated that Iran provides PIJ with $100 to $150 million annually.
PIJ has been responsible for bombings, suicide attacks and for firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilian centers, resulting in the deaths of Israeli civilians and soldiers. CEP’s report chronicles 37 separate major PIJ attacks, beginning with the August 1987 assassination of the commander of Israel’s military police in the Gaza Strip.
Learn more about the history, ideology and leadership of Palestinian Islamic Jihadand other extremist groups at counterextremism.com.
For requests for interviews, please contact CEP at [email protected].
For more information about the Counter Extremism Project, please visit our website.
About The Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, international policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideology. Led by a renowned group of former world leaders and former diplomats it will aim to combat extremism by pressuring financial support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocating for strong laws, policies and regulations.