| 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 socialistPalestinian state of pre-1948 borders |
| Headquarters | Gaza Strip andSyria |
| Ideology | |
| Status | Active |
| Size | Unknown |
| Part of |  Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command Palestinian Joint Operations Room |
| Allies | State allies: Iran Ba'athist Syria (until 2024)Non-state allies:  Hezbollah As-Sa'iqa Fatah al-Intifada Al-Qassam Brigades Al-Quds Brigades National Resistance Brigades Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades |
| Opponents |  South Lebanon Army (until 2000) IsraelPalestinian Authority Syria (from 2024)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 Gaza war |
| Flag |  |
TheJihad Jibril Brigades (Arabic:كتائب جهاد جبريل) form the paramilitary branch of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC). They are named afterJihad Ahmed Jibril, the son of founderAhmed Jibril and former head of the brigades, who died in acar bombing in Beirut in 2002. Their symbolism is the flag of the PFLP-GC in black and white.
Originally, they formed the paramilitary branch of the PFLP-GC, founded in 1969 following a split in thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) following Jibril's refusal of theMarxization of the PFLP.
The Brigades participated in the South Lebanon conflict alongside Hezbollah, theLebanese National Resistance Front and theAmal Movement against theIsraeli armed forces and their collaborators of theSouth Lebanon Army. At the same time, the PFLP-GC openly allied itself withHezbollah.
In 2008, the Jihad Jibril Brigades fired rockets at the Israeli town ofNetivot.[1][2]
The Brigades train their own weapons and have explosives and missile manufacturers.[3] Although secular in obedience, the Brigades moved closer toHamas in the 2000s, but moved away from it in the 2010s following theSyrian Civil War.[3] However, they maintain active in theGaza Strip.[3]
They have actively participated in theSyrian Civil War alongside theSyrian Ba'athist government, and have notably clashed with theFree Syrian Army, the pro-rebel Palestinian Islamist groupAknaf Bait al-Maqdis, and theIslamic State during theBattle of Yarmouk Camp.[4][5] Around 400 members of the PFLP-GC 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 thePalestinian Islamic Jihad despite their ideological differences.[8] Their forces have participated in the ongoingGaza war alongside theal-Qassam Brigades and otherallied Palestinian forces.[9]