Islamic Jihad at the Service of Iran
YNET NEWS: Escalation of violence in south puts spotlight on extremist Palestinian organization behind some of the most brutal terror attacks Israel has seen

The Grad rockets that hit Ashdod and Beersheba this week were launched by terrorists from Islamic Jihad's armed wing, as were the numerous mortars fired towards the western Negev. Four of the five terrorists killed by Israel on Wednesday were longtime Jihad members who had been firing rockets and mortars at Israel since the days of the second Intifada.

As opposed to Hamas, Islamic Jihad is a small, tight-knit organization with a particularly extremist agenda based on nationalism and religious fervor. Its members completely reject Israel's right to exist, and believe the only way to liberate "all of Palestine" is through armed Jihad, or holy war.

The group's uncompromising position led to increasing tensions with the Palestinian Authority, so much so that its leader in Damascus, Ramadan Shalah, recently warned of a "third Nakba" due to the PA's "insistence" to engage in peace talks with Israel.

The Arabic term "Nakba", meaning catastrophe, is used to describe the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in 1948 and the subsequent creation of the Israeli state. » | Elior Levy | Friday, March 25, 2011