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As the historic Israeli-Palestinian issue is now back in the international news, it is of paramount importance to understand what are the main Palestinian political factions who have played a key role inside the Gaza Strip over the past few years.
The galaxy of political formations orbiting the Strip or the Palestinian diaspora originating from this area in fact is very diverse With different nature, goals and claims.
In fact, while often The mainstream press only mentions some of the major political realities - and armed - of the Palestinian political world are countless realities that populate and influence the fate of this much infamous slice of territory, which, left to its own devices, has created a political landscape totally separate from that of the West Bank.
The lightning-fast and brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023 in southern areas of Israel, which was followed by the Tel Aviv army's response, has brought global attention back to the Middle East.
If Israeli democracy makes it easier to understand the country's political geography, Gaza's closure makes its borders shrouded in a nebula that is difficult to penetrate.
Menerva, reports here a summary exposition of each political-military reality currently still active and of some significance in the Strip.
Hamas
When talking about the Palestinian territories of Gaza, the most famous name everyone remembers is that of Hamas. The name - acronym for Harakat al-Maqawama al-Islamiyya, i.e. Islamic Resistance Movement - leaves little doubt about the type and characteristics of the movement.
As a first thing, it hints at the political origin of movement, the reality of the struggle against neighboring Israel implemented through resistance and, most importantly, the religious characterization of the group. Founded in 1987 with substantial foreign funding, it immediately took root within that segment of the Palestinian population that held to the ideals of the Muslim Brotherhood, a characteristic it largely retains to this day.
Hamas, in the course of the new millennium, found itself as the main political acronym within the Strip, enjoying numerous support from citizens and refugees residing here.
A part of this support, as well as for ideological reasons, is given by the numerous actions to support the population obtained through welfare and social security actions, of numerous pro-education projects and to the provision of numerous other services that are essential to the livelihood of that segment of the population that would otherwise be forced into poverty.
As a result of these welfare programs, he won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, forming a national unity government, but tensions between Hamas, Fatah, Israel and some members of the international community increased until an armed confrontation in 2007 and a de-facto division of Palestine into two separate political entities between Gaza and the West Bank.
The movement also features a powerful armed wing, consisting of several thousand people and equipped with interesting foreign-made or semi-crafted weapon systems, whose name is Brigades of the Martyr 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam (Katāʾib al-shahīd ʿIzz al-Dīn al-Qassām).
Hamas, in particular, has played a key role in leading the armed struggle against Israel throughout the past thirty years of local history, Actively participating in the two intifadas, 2008's Operation Cast Lead. and to numerous other war actions, including the sadly tragic one in October 2023.
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Another movement of great interest and influence on Gaza politics is the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, who has been active in the local scene since the early 1980s. This movement also began as an arm local Muslim Brotherhood, characterized by a rather radical view of Sunni political Islam.
Unlike Hamas, which over the years has been able to skillfully entrench itself within local society and become a key service provider for the population, "Islamic Jihad," another simplified name for the movement, has focused on the military and armed resistance against the Israeli neighbor, conducting a long series of lethal actions against military and civilian personnel of the Jewish state.
The main engagements, in fact, include the participation in the 2008 conflict and the very recent assault conducted inside Israeli territory. Over the years, as has been the case with numerous other Palestinian entities (including Hamas), the movement has received numerous funds from abroad, particularly from Lebanon, Syria, and, lately, also from Shiite Iran. This reality also has an armed wing known to the world as the al-Quds Brigades, also known as the Saraya al-Quds, which bear the name of the Middle Eastern holy city.
Popular Committees of Resistance
Popular Resistance Committees are another important political and armed organization present within the Gaza political scene since the early 2000s. Unlike the previously mentioned movements, the Committees have specialized and have focused its forces on developing a powerful paramilitary force, rather than devoting energy and time to the politics of the Strip.
Although numerically inferior to other realities, over time they have skillfully occupied with the creation of countless tunnel systems underground tunnels connecting Gaza with Egypt and Israeli territory itself, from which they occasionally find themselves launching deadly raids against IDF soldiers. The tunnels, moreover, have proven essential to the survival of the Strip itself, considering that they are still one of the main means of supplying the armed units and the population with important contraband resources and goods.
In the past, however, the violent activism of the Popular Resistance Committees generated not a few diatribes within the Palestinian world, especially by the Palestinian National Authority. The armed wing of the movement goes by the name al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades and acts, as is easily guessed, mainly within the Gaza territory.
Al-Fatah - al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
Although the reality of al-Fatah represents a circumscribed minority within the varied political scene in the Strip, however, the presence of some affiliated entities that alternate between political engagement and armed struggle should be mentioned.
The most important of these groups at the moment is the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - Katāʾib Shuhadāʾ al-Aqsā in Arabic-which enjoys a very large number of men and, over time, has engaged in conducting major guerrilla operations.
They enjoy, in addition, a significant missile arsenal, already partly experienced during previous tensions and periods of direct hostility between Israel and Gaza factions.
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (FDLP)
Despite the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, throughout its long history, has mainly been present within the territorial boundaries Lebanese and Syrians, there are, however, some bangs also present inside the West Bank and Gaza.
This, unlike almost all of the previously mentioned movements and parties, is characterized by a communist, Marxist-Leninist and purely secular ideological positioning, a fact that led the FDLP to gather numerous supporters within the Palestinian middle class and educated, who welcomes a vision of the secular politics.
Although its actions within Gaza are mainly oriented toward armed struggle, given the population's predominant orientation to Sunni political Islam, Still manages to exert influence on the Christian community, always present in the area, which has often remained devoid of political references of non-religious inspiration.
The armed fringe of the movement played its part in the latest major attack against Israel, leaving some of its own men on the field. That paramilitary reality takes the name Palestine National Resistance Brigades, also known internationally as Martyr Omar al-Qassem Forces.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (FPLP)
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - in Arabic al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn - represents the other major Palestinian political movement and armed struggle in Secular, communist and revolutionary political inspiration.
Dating back to the late 1960s, has long been one of the major entities engaged in gathering the political and military effort of the Palestinians during the latter part of the twentieth century, Being able to take root easily within those realities forced into exile, particularly within Syria and Lebanon.
In the 2006 Palestinian parliament he had found political representation by managing to win three seats.
Currently, however, the FPLP turns out to be a extremely limited reality in political power, men and means inside Gaza, where, however, it also maintains an armed wing named the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades. The same brigades, in this last period, have taken part alongside the other paramilitary realities in the Strip, storming some IDF border positions.
Palestinian Mujahideen Movement
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement represents one of the last political and paramilitary entities in the area. Widespread among the West Bank territories and the Gaza Strip, the Movement focused its attentions on the armed struggle, rather than on the administration and political control of the Palestinian-majority territories. To do so, it relies mainly on the action of its armed wing, which goes by the name of the Mujahideen Brigades, and has participated in numerous rocket launches against Israel, as well as in numerous other operations in collaboration with Islamic Jihad militiamen and the al-Quds Brigades.
Andrea De Poli
Class of 1996, he graduated in 2020 with a degree in linguistic sciences from the Catholic University of the
Sacro Cuore in Milan, later perfecting his studies in Strategic Affairs at LUISS in Rome.
He previously worked for the family business group, while now serving as an analyst for Menerva. He has always devoted part of his spare time to the study of major armed, social and political conflicts of the 20th century and the present day. Over the years, he has also devoted special attention to the entire social, political and economic context of the Middle East, Ukraine and North Africa. In 2021, he published "Hezbollah: History, Organization
and doctrine of the Party of God."
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