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{{Short description|Palestinian armed group.}}

{{redirect|Jerusalem Brigades|the Israeli infantry brigade|Etzioni Brigade}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name = Al-Quds Brigades<br>''{{lang|ar|سرايا القدس}}''
| logo =
| caption =
| dates = {{Start date|1981}}-present
| leader =
| founder =
| motives = The establishment of a sovereign, [[Islamic state|Islamic]] [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] state within the geographic borders of pre-1948 [[Mandatory Palestine]]
| area = [[Gaza Strip]], [[West Bank]], [[Southern Lebanon]]
| ideology = [[Palestinian nationalism]]<br>[[Islamism]]<br>[[Anti-Zionism]]
| crimes =
| attacks =
| status = Active
| size = 12,000 {{citation needed|date=February 2018}}
| revenue =
| financing =
| url = {{URL|saraya.ps/}}
}}
'''Al-Quds Brigades''' ('''AQB''') ({{lang-ar|سرايا القدس}}, ''Saraya al-Quds'' meaning ''[[Jerusalem]] Brigades'') is the armed wing of the [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian]] [[Islamist]]<ref name=ANS-indiscriminateTerrorAttacks /><ref name=ICEJ-terropristsLeader_killed /> organization [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] (PIJ),<ref name=ME>{{cite web |url=http://www.metimes.com/International/2009/01/05/the_next_dangerous_phase_of_the_gaza_war/2749/ |date=4 January 2009 |access-date=2009-01-06 |title=The Next Dangerous Phase of the Gaza War |first=Olivier |last=Guitta |work=Middle East Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116035124/http://www.metimes.com/International/2009/01/05/the_next_dangerous_phase_of_the_gaza_war/2749/ |archive-date=16 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which is the second largest group in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas.<ref name=jpostNov19/> AQB's leader is [[Ziyad al-Nakhalah]], based in [[Damascus]], [[Syria]].<ref>[https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/30/idf-islamic-jihad-deliberately-fired-rocket-that-landed-offshore/ IDF: Islamic Jihad 'deliberately' fired rocket that landed offshore]</ref> The head of AQB in the [[Gaza Strip]] was [[Baha Abu al-Ata]]<ref name=jpostNov19>{{cite news |title=Who is Abu al-Ata: The man behind rocket fire from Gaza Strip |first=Anna |last=Ahronheim |url= https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Who-is-Abu-al-Ata-The-man-suspectedly-responsible-for-Gaza-escalation-606639 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=3 November 2019 |access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref> until he was killed in November 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel strikes on Islamic Jihad chiefs prompt reprisal rocket attacks |first=Oliver |last=Holmes |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/12/israel-kills-islamic-jihad-commander-in-gaza-sparking-reprisal-rocket-attacks |newspaper=The Guardian |date=12 November 2019 |access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref>

AQB's parent organization, PIJ, is devoted to the establishment of an Islamic state, and the settlement of Palestinians in what it considers their rightful homeland within the geographic borders of the pre-1948 [[Mandatory Palestine|British-mandated Palestine]]. It refuses to participate in political processes or negotiations about a swap of Israeli and Palestinian settlements.<ref name=ICEJ-terropristsLeader_killed /> The PIJ is majority [[state-sponsored terrorism|funded]] by [[Iran]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Profiles in Terror: The Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations|last=Mannes|first=Aaron|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|page=201|year=2004}}</ref><ref>[https://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/950500.htm THE TERRORIST CONNECTION - IRAN, THE ISLAMIC JIHAD AND HAMAS]</ref>

==History==
Al-Quds Brigades was founded in 1981 by [[Fathi Shaqaqi]] and [[Abd Al Aziz Awda]] in Gaza,<ref name="ANS-indiscriminateTerrorAttacks"/> and has been active in the [[West Bank]] and the [[Gaza Strip]], especially in the town of [[Jenin]]. Awda was designated a "[[Specially Designated Terrorist]]" by United States on 23 January 1995, and Shiqaqi was assassinated in [[Malta]] on 26 October 1995.

The group undertook [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine#Militant activities|numerous attacks on Israeli civilians]], including suicide bombings; and has suffered extensive operations against its infrastructure carried out by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF), which resulted in severe losses to the group, and it appeared significantly weakened by 2004.<ref name=ANS-indiscriminateTerrorAttacks>{{cite web|title=Palestinian Islamic Jihad – al-Quds Brigades |url=http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/PalestinianIslamicJihad.aspx |website=Australian National Security|publisher=Australian Attorney-General's Department |access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref><ref name=ICEJ-terropristsLeader_killed />

On 1 March 2006, [[Abu al-Walid al-Dahdouh]], an AQB commander, was targeted and killed by an [[Israel]]i air strike in [[Gaza City]] as he drove past the Palestinian finance ministry.{{cn|date=November 2019}} On 30 August 2006, the AQB West Bank leader, [[Hussam Jaradat]], was shot and killed by undercover IDF in Jenin on 30 August 2006.<ref name=ICEJ-terropristsLeader_killed>{{cite web|title=IDF uncovers massive tunnel near Gaza fence Four terrorists killed in Gaza City clashes |url=http://nir.icej.org/news/headlines/idf-uncovers-massive-tunnel-near-gaza-fence |website=icej.org |publisher=The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem|access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref>

In the Gaza Strip, al-Quds Brigades continued its militant activities,<ref name=CNN-rocketTerror-humanShields>{{cite web |last1=Martinez|first1=Michael, and Talal Abu Rahma, and Kareem Khadder |title=Israel fires on 29 'terror sites' after rockets from Gaza hit populated areas |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/12/world/meast/gaza-israel-violence/|website=cnn.com |access-date=11 July 2014|ref=Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.}}</ref> including the indiscriminate firing of [[al-Quds rocket]] attacks out of populated civilian areas.<ref name=ANS-indiscriminateTerrorAttacks /><ref name=a7-humanShields-RocketTerror>{{cite web |last1=Hirshfeld|first1=Rachel|title=Video: Jihadists Firing from Residential Zones, Proud of It|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162125|website=israelnationalnews.com|publisher=Arutz Sheva|access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref><ref name=blaze-humanShield-rocketTerror>{{cite web|last1=Schwartz|first1=Sharona|title=World 'Human Shields': Video and Photo Appear to Show Terror Group Firing Rockets at Israel from Densely Populated Area |url=http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/13/human-shields-video-and-photo-appear-to-show-terror-group-firing-rockets-at-israel-from-densely-populated-area/ |website=theblaze.com|publisher=TheBlaze Inc|access-date=11 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163228/http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/13/human-shields-video-and-photo-appear-to-show-terror-group-firing-rockets-at-israel-from-densely-populated-area/|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Al-Quds Brigades promotes the military destruction of Israel, including the indiscriminate firing of rocket, mortar fire and suicide bombings.<ref name=ANS-indiscriminateTerrorAttacks /> The international community considers the use of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations<ref name=rwkckb07>{{cite journal |last=Kurz |first=Robert W.|author2=Charles K. Bartles|title=Chechen suicide bombers|journal=Journal of Slavic Military Studies|year=2007|volume=20|issue=4|pages=529–547 |doi=10.1080/13518040701703070 |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a477845.pdf|access-date=30 August 2012|publisher=Routledge|s2cid=96476266}}</ref> and the use of [[human shields]]<ref name=NYslimes-humanShields>{{cite news|last1=Erlanger |first1=Steven |first2=Fares |last2=Akram |title=Israel Warns Gaza Targets by Phone and Leaflet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/world/middleeast/by-phone-and-leaflet-israeli-attackers-warn-gazans.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimesworld&_r=1|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 July 2014 |access-date=10 July 2014}}</ref> [[Geneva conventions#Protocols|illegal under international law]].<ref name=ICRC-humanShieldsArt51>{{cite web |title=Protection of the civilian population|url=http://www.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750065|website=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.|publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross|access-date=10 July 2014}}</ref>

In March 2014, over 100 rockets were launched into southern Israel by PIJ and other Islamist groups. On 14 March, [[Ramadan Shalah]], the then leader of PIJ, announced that the attack was coordinated with [[Hamas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/03/14/islamic-jihad-leader-israel-attack-coordinated-with-hamas-despite-truce-threatens-tel-aviv/|title=Islamic Jihad Leader: Israel Attack Coordinated with Hamas; Despite Truce, Threatens 'Beyond' Tel Aviv |date=14 March 2014 |work=[[The Algemeiner]] |access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref>

[[Baha Abu al-Ata]], the head of AQB in the Gaza Strip, was killed in a targeted killing in Gaza City on 12 November 2019, allegedly after having given orders for the launching of rockets into Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/12/middleeast/israel-gaza-islamic-jihad-intl/index.html|title=Islamic Jihad leader killed in Israeli air strike|website=CNN|date=12 November 2019}}</ref> At the same time, Syrian media reported that another senior PIJ commander, [[Akram al-Ajouri]], survived an airstrike in Damascus, but his son and daughter were killed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/islamic-jihad-says-senior-commander-targeted-in-damascus-strike-son-killed/|title=Islamic Jihad says senior commander targeted in Damascus strike, son killed|website=The Times of Israel|date=12 November 2019}}</ref> The next day, AQB launched more than 220 rockets into southern and central Israel, and on the next day the IDF struck several PIJ targets in the Gaza Strip killing two Palestinians, identified as 38-year-old Khaled Moawad Faraj, AQB's field commander, and 32-year-old Alaa Ashtyawu. Later that day, three more AQB members were killed in an [[Israeli Air Force]] airstrike while attempting to launch rockets into Israel.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/House-of-PIJ-officer-hit-by-IDF-airstrike-report-607719 ISLAMIC JIHAD TERRORIST'S HOME HIT BY IDF AIRSTRIKE - REPORT]</ref> A ceasefire was agreed for 14 November, by which time AQB had launched over 400 rockets into Israel and a total of 36 Palestinians had been killed, including 25 members of PIJ or other factions in the Strip.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Netanyahu-We-can-target-anyone-even-in-their-beds-607867 IDF remains on high alert as rockets threaten cease fire]</ref> This time, Hamas made no effort to stand with or assist PIJ.{{cn|date=March 2020}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://saraya.ps/ سرايا القدس (Saraya al-Quds)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quds }}
[[Category:Jihadist groups]]
[[Category:Military wings of political parties]]
[[Category:Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine]]
[[Category:Palestinian militant groups]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1981]]
[[Category:1981 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate]]
[[Category:Axis of Resistance]]

Al-Quds Brigades - Revision history

CleanupBot at 04:00, 29 January 2022