The Jihad Jibril Brigades (Arabic: كتائب جهاد جبريل) form the paramilitary branch of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-CG). They are named after Jihad Ahmed Jibril, the son of founder Ahmed Jibril and former head of the brigades, who died in an car bombing in Beirut in 2002. Their symbolism is the flag of the PFLP-CG in black and white.
| Jihad Jibril Brigades كتائب جهاد جبريل | |
|---|---|
| Founding leader | Ahmed Jibril |
| Leaders | Talal Naji |
| Foundation | 1969 |
| Dates of operation | 1969–present |
| Country | Palestine and Syria |
| Motives | Establishing an independent nationalist, secular and socialist Palestinian state of pre-1948 borders |
| Headquarters | Gaza strip and Syria |
| Ideology | |
| Status | Active |
| Size | Unknown |
| Part of |  Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command |
| Allies | State allies:  Iran SyriaNon-state allies:  Al-Qassam Brigades Al-Quds Brigades Hezbollah As-Sa'iqa Fatah al-Intifada National Resistance Brigades Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades |
| Opponents |  South Lebanon Army (until 2000) Israel Free Syrian Army Syrian National Army Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis Islamic State al-Qaeda |
| Battles and wars | Arab–Israeli conflict Lebanese Civil War Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon Israeli–Lebanese conflict Syrian civil war 2023 Israel–Hamas war |
| Flag |  |
History
Originally, they formed the paramilitary branch of the PFLP-CG, founded in 1969 following a split in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) following Jibril's refusal of the Marxization of the PFLP.
The Brigades participated in the South Lebanon conflict alongside Hezbollah, the Lebanese National Resistance Front and the Amal Movement against the Israeli armed forces and their collaborators of the South Lebanon Army. At the same time, the PFLP-CG openly allied itself with Hezbollah.
In 2008, the Jihad Jibril Brigades fired rockets at the Israeli town of Netivot.[1][2]
The Brigades train their own weapons and have explosives and missile manufacturers.[3] Although secular in obedience, the Brigades moved closer to Hamas in the 2000s, but moved away from it in the 2010s following the Syrian Civil War.[3] However, they maintain active in the Gaza Strip.[3]
They have actively participated in the Syrian Civil War alongside the Syrian Ba'athist government, and have notably clashed with the Free Syrian Army, the pro-rebel Palestinian Islamist group Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis, and the Islamic State during the Battle of Yarmouk Camp.[4][5] Around 400 members of the PFLP-CG are believed to have died during the Syrian civil war.[6]
The Jihad Jibril Brigades actively participate in joint training in the Gaza Strip with other Palestinian factions,[7] cooperating with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad despite their ideological differences.[8] Their forces have participated in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war alongside the al-Qassam Brigades and other allied Palestinian forces.[9]
References
- ^ Jihad Jibril Brigades attack Netivot, 2008[permanent dead link]
- ^ Division for Palestinian Rights. "Chronological Review of Events: May 2008". United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "Report on the Leftist-Turned-Islamist Gaza Terror Organization – The Martyr Jihad Jibril Brigades". MEMRI. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Syria hits back at UN over Palestinian refugees". Syria. NOW. 17 December 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ Makhoul-Yatim, Amara (8 April 2015). "Syrie : ce qu'il faut savoir sur le quartier de Yarmouk". France 24 (in French).
- ^ Action Group for Palestinians in Syria (6 September 2019). "Talal Naji: Over 400 Members of PFLP-GC Killed in War-Torn Syria". Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ "انطلاق التدريب المشترك لفصائل المقاومة الفلسطينية". Islamic World News (in Arabic). 26 December 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "الجبهة الشعبية تعلن رفع حالة الاستنفار العام في صفوف مقاتليها إلى الدرجة القصوى". ABNA (in Arabic). 9 May 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "أبرزها القسام وشهداء الأقصى وسرايا القدس، معلومات عن فصائل المقاومة الفلسطينية". Veto (in Arabic). 22 October 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.