The Salafi jihadist insurgency in the Gaza Strip is a low-level conflict that has primarily involved Hamas and various Gazan Salafi jihadist militant groups that seek to challenge its governance of the territory.
Gazan Salafi jihadists first became active in the early 2000s. The insurgency first escalated during the late 2000s and early 2010s with events such as the 2009 Battle of Rafah and the 2011 kidnapping and murder of Vittorio Arrigoni. A truce between the two sides was signed in 2013. However, the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in the mid-2010s emboldened Gazan Salafi jihadists, leading to a resumption of direct clashes between Hamas and IS-affiliated forces in 2015.
Salafi jihadist groups operating in the Gaza Strip have typically engaged in armed clashes with Hamas forces and attacked various civilian targets, as well as launched attacks against Israel. The conflict is rooted in ideological differences, with Salafi jihadist groups opposing Hamas' Palestinian nationalism in favor of a transnational jihadism and full implementation of Sharia law. Many of these groups have aligned themselves with Al-Qaeda and/or IS, both which fall as well into the Salafi jihadist category. Only one Salafi jihadist group, Jaysh al-Ummah, has historically refrained from participating in the fighting against Hamas.
Background
Salafism was first introduced into the Gaza Strip in the 1970s by Palestinian students who had returned from studying abroad at religious schools in Saudi Arabia. The early movement was seen as helping Saudi efforts to propagate Wahhabism (which is often seen as a subset of Salafism) and counter the Iranian Shia Islam of Ruhollah Khomeini. According to journalist Jared Maslin, a number of Salafi groups in the Gaza Strip continue to receive support and funding from the Saudi government today.
The first documented Salafi organization in the Gaza Strip was "Dar al-Kitab wa-al-Sunna" (House of the Book and Sunnah), established in 1975 by Sheikah Yasin al-Astal, which was non-violent and focused on preaching and education. During this time, Gazan Salafis distanced themselves from Palestinian politics and the struggle against Israel. Many Palestinians distrusted them, and as a result they were sometimes marginalized and isolated.
The integration of jihadist ideology into Gazan Salafism began in the 2000s, and appears to have correlated with similar radicalization processes in the Sinai; the first reports on "violent Salafis" date to this period as well.
Beginnings and spread (2001–2005)
2001
According to a Gazan Salafi jihadist militant interviewed in 2010, the first ever attack in the Gaza Strip carried out by Salafi jihadists was in 2001, by a group called Jund Allah (not to be confused with Jund Ansar Allah, founded in 2008). The nature or target of the attack is unknown.
2002
In December, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon said that Israel believed Al-Qaeda had established a presence in the Gaza Strip. The autonomous Palestinian Authority (PA), which governed Gaza at the time, vigorously denied the allegation.
2003
In October, an American diplomatic convoy was bombed in Gaza; Salafi jihadists were alleged to be the perpetrators.
2005
A number of Salafi jihadist militant groups were established in the Gaza Strip, during the months preceding the Israeli disengagement from the territory in August and September.
In October, Mumtaz Dogmush of the Dogmush clan, a Gazan criminal family, founded Jaysh al-Islam ("The Army of Islam").
Escalation (2006–2012)
2006
The Hamas victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, held in January, was a turning point for the attitudes of many Salafi jihadists towards the group. The PA democratic election was seen as incompatible with a Sharia political system, and the Salafi jihadists began to oppose Hamas for its participation. Suyuf al-Haq and Jaljalat were founded in response to Hamas' participation in the election. That year, Suyuf al-Haq began a campaign of attacks against local internet cafés, music shops, media facilities, and civilians, and also threatened to blow up local Christian churches in response to the publication in Denmark of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammed.
There was generally a period of "post-election turmoil", with Jund Allah, Suyuf al-Haq, and a number of then active Salafi jihadist groups conducting attacks in Gaza.
Jaysh al-Islam, however, was still on good terms with Hamas. The group participated in a Gaza cross-border raid on 25 June alongside Hamas and its ally the Popular Resistance Committees, capturing Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas appears to have collaborated with Jaysh al-Islam in order to present the operation as a "national undertaking".
On 14 August, Jaysh al-Islam kidnapped two Fox News journalists, who were later freed on 27 August. In reaction to the kidnapping, Hamas stated they had "received assurances that similar acts would not recur".
On 16 September, a group calling itself the Lions of Monotheism firebombed five Christian churches in response to the controversy over Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam. While one of the church attacks occurred in the Gaza Strip, the other four were carried out in Nablus, in the West Bank. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who had become prime minister of the Palestinian Authority due to the earlier election victory, condemned the attacks. Also in September, according to Hamas, Jaysh al-Islam murdered Jad Tayeh, a former PA Brigadier General who was a General Intelligence Service official.
In late November, Suyuf al-Haq launched a series of attacks against internet cafés and record shops.
2007
In March, Jaysh al-Islam kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston, and stated they would release him in exchange for the release of an Al-Qaeda cleric imprisoned in the United Kingdom. According to a Hamas cleric, this action led Hamas to definitively cut off relations with Jaysh al-Islam.
In May, an especially anti-Christian group called Jihadia Salafiya was suspected of attacking a UNRWA school after it hosted a coed sporting event. The attack left one person dead.
Following the Battle of Gaza in June, which saw Hamas take over the Gaza Strip, the Salafi jihadists' freedom of maneuver was reduced. The new Hamas administration then turned against Jaysh al-Islam and issued an ultimatum for the release of Johnston. When this was ignored, Hamas arrested a Jaysh al-Islam leader, Khattab al-Maqdisi, who reportedly organized the kidnapping and was close to Mumtaz Dogmush. Jaysh al-Islam retaliated by kidnapping several students from the Islamic University of Gaza. Hamas' Executive Force then arrested 15 members of the Dogmush clan and besieged Mumtaz Dogmush's home in Gaza City, after which Johnston's release was secured.
On 6 October, Rami Ayyad, a Gazan Christian who owned the only Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip, was kidnapped and murdered by Salafi jihadists as part of a broader campaign to drive out Christians from Gaza. The group Jaish al Mu’minun, also known as "Al-Qaeda in Palestine", claimed responsibility for the murder.
2008
In February, Jaysh al-Islam attacked a YMCA building in Gaza and temporarily abducted its security guards.
In April, Masada al-Mujahideen announced its formation. The group would go on to claim various arson attacks– of dubious validity– in Israel and even the United States.
On 25 July, three bombings in Gaza occurred– one at an empty café, one at the home of a Hamas cleric and legislator, and one at a gathering of Al-Qassam Brigades commanders, which caused casualties. According to Hamas, the attack targeting the Al-Qassam Brigades gathering was orchestrated by Fatah, but the other two were orchestrated by Jaysh al-Islam. Hamas police then entered the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City– controlled by the Dogmush clan– and engaged in an hours-long clash with Jaysh al-Islam militants and Dogmush clan gunmen.
On 1 September, Jaysh al-Ummah organized its first "public training session" in southern Gaza, using the opportunity to criticize the Hamas government. Two days later, Hamas arrested the group's leader Abu Hafs al-Maqdisi, prompting the group to threaten violent responses unless their commander was released. Sometime in September, Hamas forces reentered Sabra and forcibly ended the Dogmush control over the neighborhood.
In October, Jaysh al-Islam militants clashed with Popular Resistance Committees militants led by another Dogmush clan member, Zakaria Dogmush.
Sometime in late 2008, Jund Ansar Allah was founded.
2009
This year saw the establishment of the Palestinian Taliban Group, with around 100 members, by the emir of the organization, Abu Osama, with the intent to combat Hamas.
On 27 January, a newly formed group called Jahafil Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad fi Filastin or simply Tawhid wal-Jihad conducted a bomb attack beneath an Israeli military jeep, killing one soldier.
On 8 June, Jund Ansar Allah militants launched a dramatic but unsuccessful attack on horseback against the Karni crossing of the Gaza-Israel border, and were all shot dead by IDF troops. Hamas responded to the attack with a "stern warning" to the group to abide by the ceasefire then in place with Israel, but Jund Ansar Allah allegedly then proceeded to orchestrate a wave of attacks against local businesses.
On 21 July, in Khan Yunis, an explosion at the wedding of the nephew of Muhammad Dahlan resulted in dozens of injuries. It is disputed whether Jund Ansar Allah was responsible, but in any case Hamas police ended up pursuing Jund Ansar Allah militants and besieging a group of them inside a building. The standoff ended after a day, following negotiations mediated by local clerics.
On 11 August, Jund Ansar Allah circulated instructions for Gazan Salafi jihadists to attend Friday prayers at the Ibn Taymiyya Mosque in Rafah, where Abdel Latif Moussa was set to give a sermon titled "Golden Advice to Ismail Haniyeh". On 14 August, with the mosque filled with weapons and armed militants, Moussa gave his sermon, during which he declared the formation of the "Islamic Emirate of Rafah" and implementation of Sharia. After an Al-Qassam Brigades commander was killed by a Jund Ansar Allah sniper outside the mosque, a one-day battle erupted between the two sides in the area. It resulted in a Hamas victory and the near-eradication of the group. Later that month, Jaljalat carried out two bombing attacks against Hamas government buildings in retaliation for the events in Rafah.
In September, Jaljalat revealed that it had attempted to assassinated former American president Jimmy Carter and former British prime minister Tony Blair, but the plot had been foiled by Hamas. During that month, Jaljalat carried out a wave of attacks on Hamas forces.
In early October, Hamas captured Mahmoud Taleb, the leader of Jaljalat. Also that month, remmants of Jund Ansar Allah carried out a rocket attack against Israel.
In December, Taleb escaped custody.
2010
Sometime in early 2010, Salafi jihadists conducted three bombings targeting the cars of Hamas officials.
In February, Jaysh al-Islam militants allegedly bombed a convoy of Red Cross vehicles. Mumtaz Dogmush, however, denied he had ordered the attack, and the militants said to be responsible were arrested.
In March, remnants of Jund Ansar Allah carried out a rocket attack against Israel. That month, Hamas recaptured Taleb, and his return to prison weakened Jaljalat's operational capabilities. Also that month, the group Ansar al-Sunnah carried out a rocket attack that killed one Thai worker in Israel.
Two attacks in 2010 appear to have been carried out by Salafi jihadist elements within Hamas. On 23 May, a UNRWA summer camp was vandalized and burned down. The suspects, who were arrested by Hamas, were actually Al-Qassam Brigades militants who may have had a Salafi jihadist orientation. Then on 19 September, gunmen alleged to be Salafi jihadists burned down Gaza's Crazy Water Park; the perpetrators are widely believed to have also been members of the Al-Qassam Brigades.
An Israeli helicopter strike killed Jaysh al-Islam senior leader Mohammed Jamil al-Nemnem, 27, in Gaza City on 3 November 2010. Nemnem was second-in-command to Mumtaz Doghmush. Egypt had reportedly tipped-off Israel that Nemnem was helping plan an attack on the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai Peninsula. In a subsequent statement, Israel claimed Nemnem was involved in directing multiple terrorist attacks targeting Israelis in recent years.
Following the Nemnem strike, the Israeli Air Force killed group members Mohammed and Islam Yassif in a drone strike on 17 November 2010. The strike was coordinated with Israeli Shin Bet and occurred around dawn on a busy street in Gaza City, and cited the same security issues as that in the killing of Namnam.
On 21 December, Jaysh al-Islam retaliated for the Israeli strikes, launching a rocket at Zikim that almost hit a kindergarten.