Al-Jazeera Report On Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Military Wing In West Bank Shows Manufacturing Explosive Devices, Interviews With Fighters Who Carried Out Attacks In Which Israelis Were Killed

On January 6, 2023, Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) aired a report detailing the activity of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades military wing in the West Bank. In the report, PIJ operatives are seen preparing explosive devices that were purportedly used in attacks against Israeli forces. Damascus-based senior PIJ official Akram Al-Ajouri described the Al-Quds Brigades' activity in Jenin and in nearby towns, and he claimed that the brigades are comprised of more than 100 fighters. He also described a January 2022 attack against Israelis near Homesh, Israel in which one yeshiva student was murdered and several others were injured. In addition, a PIJ field operative described an attack on an Israeli military base Shavei Shomron in late 2022 in which one soldier was killed, and a "Abu Hassan," a local field commander with the Jenin Brigade, described his brigade's operations in the region.

Reporter: "Even though its members have been targeted and assassinated, the Jenin Brigade has made significant leaps in its development. In this exclusive footage, members of the brigade are shown preparing explosive devices and home-made bombs, using primitive methods, in order to fend off any possible Israeli raid on the camp.

"As shown here, members of the Jenin Brigade are conducting successful experiments in detonating recently manufactured explosives.

"Later, one of these devices was used in an explosion targeting an Israeli military convoy during an operation carried out by the occupation army west of Jenin, days before this report was broadcast."

PIJ operative: "The Jenin Brigade consists of three units. The first is the reconnaissance and surveillance unit. This unit tracks enemy movements. The second unit is the explosives unit, which prepares home-made explosive devices with which to confront the enemy. The third unit is the combat and confrontation unit."

[...]

PIJ official Akram Al-Ajouri: "The brigade is being built and it is growing. This development does not depend on the brigade, because a brigade needs offshoots. With the blessing of Allah, we now have brigades in Nablus, Jaba', Tubas, and Tulkarm.

"The number of [brigade members] is not small. They are many. There are dozens of members, all fully equipped. They have weapons and expertise. There are hundreds of [PIJ members] providing support for them, but the core of the brigade has 100 members or a little more.

"The Homesh attack was dangerous and significant. The goal of the operation's commanders – Mahmoud Jaradat, Omar, and Ghaith and some members of the Islamic Jihad – was to kill and take prisoners.

[...]

"The operation was successful. A settler was killed. He was a rabbi. Others in the car were wounded. The car was expected to stop because of the shooting, but the driver survived and continued driving the car. He moved away from the place, and the brothers retreated."

[...]

Reporter: "In this report, we were able to interview one of the operatives who carried out the attack in Shavei Shomron, who discussed the details of the attack for the first time."

PIJ operative: "The guys and I talked about how the gangs of settlers attack the people. So we planned how we could carry out the attack, and then return safely. We planned everything in detail and put our trust in Allah. We all prayed to Allah, and then we set out.

"Allah be praised, even the sniper in the watchtower didn't fire a single bullet, for fear of what he saw happening before his eyes."