Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Between Nationalism and Religion

This research explores the development of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) over the last decade as a proxy organization of the Iranian regime, or as a group that finds its way between Palestinian nationalism and support for the religious Islamic revolution of Iran. Most studies of Islamic organizations in Palestine focus on Hamas, the “Big Brother” of the PIJ. Hamas, which grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, began violent operations in 1987 during the First Intifada partially due to its competition with the PIJ. Although the role of the PIJ in Palestinian society has grown in its influence, disappointingly there are very few research studies that analyze this organization. Moreover, most of these works focus on the period before the al-Aqṣā Intifada and especially examine suicide operations and the group’s motives. The main questions to be answered by this study are: What is the nature of the PIJ? Is it a religious movement with religious aims or Palestinian national one? This article analyzes these questions through an examination of the PIJ’s activity vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran. This study’s central argument is that the PIJ is a Palestinian religious national organization that sees Iran as a partner.