The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On July 2, 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces launched a military operation against what it described as "terrorist infrastructure" in the West Bank's city of Jenin. Below is a compilation of initial reactions by jihadis to the operation.
Pro-Al-Qaeda Twitter User: "The Nation Of Unbelief Has United Against The Muslims"
On July 2, a pro-Al-Qaeda Twitter user who has more than 5,000 followers related the Israeli military operation to other alleged acts of aggression against Muslims by non-Muslims, arguing that the "nation of unbelief has united against the Muslims."[1]
Sharing a media report about the operation in Jenin, the user wrote: "The Zionist occupation is bombing Jenin; the Russian occupation is bombing Idlib; the Punjabi occupation is bombing Waziristan. Many fronts, but one murderer: The nation of unbelief that has united against the Muslims, even if it is disjointed and fragmented."
Hizbullah Condemns Israeli Operation, Expresses Support For Palestinian Resistance
On July 3, Lebanese Hizbullah released a statement condemning "the renewed Zionist violence against the Jenin [refugee] camp, the terrorization of Palestinian citizens, the destruction of their possessions, and the acts of killing, arbitrary arrests, and terror that the forces of the occupation practice against them amid global and Arab silence that encourages the enemy to persist in its dangerous terrorist acts."[2]
Hizbullah further expressed its complete support of the Palestinian resistance factions for "every choice that they see as appropriate for deterring the enemy and protecting the Palestinian people and their sanctities," while also noting that "the Palestinian mujahideen have once again demonstrated their vigilance and ability to stand in the face of the enemy's arrogance."
Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Media Champions Palestinian Resistance
A Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq released a five-page poster series that heralded the "legendary epic" of Jenin's resistance in facing the "second largest [Israeli] operation since the second Intifada."[3] The poster series featured depictions of Israeli soldiers and war planes as well as images of victims and Palestinian fighters.
Despite deploying 1,000 soldiers and conducting 15 airstrikes, according to the posters, the "forces of the occupation were met with fierce resistance by all the resistance groups in Jenin, with the forces of the occupation being bombed by IEDs and bombarded by bullets." The posters further noted that the Israeli military occupation "will not achieve its goal of eradicating the resistance."
Separately, another outlet affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq published a poster on Telegram depicting armed Palestinian fighters alongside text that read: "Strike with your sword, oh resistance fighter, so that they leave."[4]
The Telegram post's caption also featured a Quranic verse, 28:5, which reads: "But it was Our Will to favor those who were oppressed in the land, making them models of faith as well as successors."
[1] Twitter, July 2, 2023.
[2] Telegram, July 3, 2023.
[3] Telegram, July 3, 2023.
[4] Telegram, July 3, 2023.
The full text of this post is available to subscribers.
Please login or register to request subscription information from MEMRI
