Iran fueling Palestinian jihad, preventing terrorists’ disarmament

(Oct. 13, 2026/ JNS)

3 years after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second-largest terrorist company in the Gaza Strip, is making one thing clear: It has no intent of deserting its armed battle versus Israel.

On the contrary, the Iran-backed terrorist company is declaring its dedication to jihad (holy war), armed resistance and the damage of what it calls the “Zionist job.”

That message needs to be taken seriously by anybody hoping that the Gaza war can end with the disarmament of Hamas, PIJ and the other armed groups.

In declarations marking the 3rd anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack and the 39th anniversary of PIJ’s starting, the company’s leaders did not discuss surrendering their weapons, dismantling their military facilities or moving control of Gaza to a brand-new Palestinian federal government.

Rather, they stated they would keep combating.

PIJ Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhala stated that his company would stay dedicated to “the course of jihad and resistance,” which would continue “by all possible ways” as long as the “Zionist job” stays on allegedly Palestinian land. He likewise stated that the “unity of the resistance forces in Palestine and in the area” would stay in location.

Al-Nakhala went even more, explaining the Oct. 7 attack, which he called the “Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood,” as a “natural reaction” to what he referred to as Israeli hostility. He depicted the dispute as a fight in between one country and one opponent– the “Zionist job and its allies.”

“The Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood came as a natural action to this continuous hostility, and it was a natural extension of our individuals’s battle and resistance versus the Zionist task that uprooted us from our nation, Palestine,” he stated.

To put it simply, 3 years after Oct. 7, the Palestinian jihadis and their customers in Tehran have actually not repudiated the attack. They have actually not excused the massacre of Israeli civilians. They have actually not excused bringing death and damage by themselves individuals.

Rather, they continue to commemorate Oct. 7 as part of a supposedly genuine historic battle.

PIJ’s anniversary declaration was specific: The company stated it would continue, together with other “resistance forces,” on the course of jihad up until it accomplished what it calls its rights and had actually “freed” its land. It explained Israel as a “criminal Zionist entity.” Needless to state, PIJ, Hamas and the other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip do not acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.

This is precisely the problem that should not be obscured by diplomatic language about ceasefires, peace strategies and restoration. The concern is not whether Hamas or the other Islamist terrorist groups will consent to a short-lived time out in battling. The genuine concern is whether these companies are prepared to desert their weapons and their ideology of armed battle.

The most recent declarations from the Islamist terrorists supply a clear response: No.

PIJ happily revealed that more than 2,000 of its fighters had actually been eliminated in Gaza, lots more in Judea and Samaria and more than 80 on the Lebanese front. According to the company, its fighters battled along with Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian factions.

This boast is especially essential since PIJ is not running in seclusion. The company freely recognizes itself as part of a larger local “resistance” camp that consists of Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran.

The message is clear: The Iranian program and its horror proxies in the Middle East have actually constantly seen the war versus Israel as part of a more comprehensive local conflict. This facility needs to issue not just Israel however likewise the United States and other Western nations.

The PIJ declarations likewise show the continuing impact of Iran. Provided the history of Iranian financing, weapons and training for Hamas and PIJ, the continuing relationship in between Tehran and these groups stays an essential consider examining their capability and desire to desert armed battle.

U.S. Treasury Department evaluations have actually for years recorded Iranian state sponsorship of Hamas totaling up to numerous countless dollars. The Treasury Department has actually likewise determined Iranian financing, weapons and training for PIJ through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In its “2026 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment,” the Treasury Department reported: “Hamas continues to depend on worldwide fundraising efforts, contributions, numerous countless dollars in state sponsorship from Iran, and abuse of sham charitable entities for earnings.”

Declarations by the leaders of the Iranian program and their fear proxies consistently describe the United States as an ally of Israel and implicate the U.S. of complicity in Israel’s actions. The rhetoric of the Islamists does not represent the dispute as a directly Palestinian-Israeli disagreement. It depicts Israel and its allies as a single opponent camp.

This difference matters.

Those who think that the dispute will end just by encouraging Hamas and PIJ to accept a brand-new political plan in Gaza ought to listen thoroughly to what the terrorist groups themselves are stating.

Beating Islamist terrorism can not be dealt with as a short-term diplomatic workout. No peace strategy or diplomatic effort will be successful so long as the Iran-backed terrorist companies keep the capability to introduce another Oct. 7 massacre.

3 years after Oct. 7, the global neighborhood ought to stop asking just what Israel plans to do next. It ought to ask what Hamas, PIJ and their Iranian client mean to do next. The response is currently offered. They keep advising us: They mean to continue their jihad till the removal of Israel.

Initially released by the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs