Pro-Al-Qaeda Magazine Incites Assassinations And 'Lone Wolf' Attacks, Suggests Killing Yair Netanyahu, MBZ, Israelis, 'Zionists' In UAE

On September 23, 2024, the seventh issue of the unofficial magazine Incite the Believers, published periodically by a group of Al-Qaeda supporters, was shared by several pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram accounts.[1] A significant focus of the 84-page issue is encouraging assassinations and "lone wolf" attacks, particularly targeting Israelis and other "Zionists," including UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.

The following report summarizes four articles in the magazine on the above topics:

Tips For Recruiting, Training Assassins

One article features excerpts from a 2003 book by slain Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) ideologue Fares Al-Zahrani aka Abu Jandal Al-Azdi, titled Inciting the Heroic Mujahideen to Revive the Ritual of Assassination. As quoted in the magazine, Al-Zahrani wrote that the ongoing war against various unbelievers requires "talented mujahideen" to learn tactics of "asymmetrical warfare," claiming that former U.S. President Bill Clinton was warned that only an enemy using such tactics would be able to harm and destabilize America.

The article list qualities which a jihadi must possess to carry out assassinations, including conviction in his cause and the ability to answer the questions "Why does he fight? Whom does he fight? How? And when?"; physical fitness and the ability to run, climb mountains, and drive cars and motorcycles; knowledge of how to kidnap and kill; intelligence; a "terrorist mentality" and "security sense"; courage and cool-headedness; and a fatwa legitimizing his actions.

Another excerpt from the book suggests forming cells to carry out assassinations and provides guidance to this end. As quoted in the article, it recommends choosing operatives who are "difficult to expose" and unsuspected by authorities. The operatives should be trained secretly, in teams of no more than three members, in preparing booby traps and remote detonation, as well as "killing in practice." Al-Zahrani recommended kidnapping unbelievers and having the cell practice killing methods on them, with a "detailed explanation of the areas of weakness in the human body," whether they plan to kill using "a handgun, rifle, knife, axe, strangling, or poison." He also suggested studying places and cities to learn how to enter, exit, and move within them, adding that new operatives can observe attacks by veterans to gain practice.

Call To Assassinate Israeli PM's Son Yair Netanyahu

An article titled "A Target for Enthusiasts of Hunting Cheap Dogs" encourages the assassination of Israeli right-wing political activist Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Featuring an image showing Yair – with a target drawn on him – standing with his father, the article notes that the Netanyahu son is 33 years old, his nationality is "a Zionist son of a Zionist woman (son of the pig Netanyahu)," he works as a podcaster and is considered the "face of the Zionists in the media," and is known for his "endless hatred of Islam and incitement to kill Muslims."

The article notes that Yair Netanyahu left "Palestine" in March 2023 during the heat of protests against his father's government and subsequently moved to a "resort in Miami" owned by "millionaire" Simon Falic. According to the article, the prime minister's son lives in a "luxurious housing complex" in Miami, with a driver and two personal bodyguards from Unit 730 of Israel's Shin Bet security agency. The writer asserts: "The presence of many Zionists in the building where this dog resides makes the matter more enticing," claiming that recent reports of a "foreign body" at the site prove that "it is possible to penetrate the building and rig it with explosives or eliminate its residents." He adds that Yair's "love of media appearances" can be exploited, by stalking him through hacking his social media accounts. Links to his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts are included.

Depicting a knife, the article describes such weapons as "the friend of the lone mujahid."

Incitement For Palestinians To Target Israelis

An article titled "My Palestinian Brother: You Be the Next One," by a supporter using the pseudonym "Wounds, Bullets, and Pain," lists 20 vehicular rammings, shootings, and stabbings targeting Israelis perpetrated by Palestinians between July 3 and September 9, in various locations including the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. Noting the casualties caused by the attacks and specifying whether each perpetrator "ascended" as a martyr, was arrested, or escaped, it encourages Palestinians to emulate these operations.

Call To Target Mohammed Bin Zayed, "Zionists" In UAE

A poster on the penultimate page of the magazine shows the Israeli flag flying next to that of the UAE, four young men draped in Israeli flags with targets superimposed on their heads, and a knife dripping blood. Described as "an appeal to the heroes of the Gulf (the Zionists are in your midst)," its text reads: "If you want to draw close to Allah, I will show you something better than a ram [as a sacrifice]: the neck of an unbeliever that you sever from his body."

It continues: "Today you will find no Arab country where there are more Zionists than the Emirates of fornication and prostitution. So arise and take revenge for your brothers in Palestine, and if you would obtain the head of their dog, the vile Son of the Decreasing [a play on the Arab name bin Zayed, literally Son of the Increasing], that would be better and more appropriate."

The last issue of Incite the Believers was published on August 14 and included other excerpts from Al-Zahrani's book on assassinations.[2] The magazine's first issue was published on April 4 and ascribed to the "Ahfad bin Maslamah" [descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's Companion Muhammad bin Maslamah, famous for assassinating several enemies] media group.[3]