The Brigades of the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa (Arabic: كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى, romanized: Katāʾib ash-Shahīd Abū ʿAlī Muṣṭafā) are the armed wing of the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the Palestinian territories (the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem). It was named after Mustafa Ali Zabri, better known by his kunya Abu Ali Mustafa.
| Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى Katāʾib Abū ʿAlī Muṣṭafā | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leaders | Ahmad Sa'adat Abu Jamal (spokesperson) |
| Dates of operation | 1967–present |
| Allegiance | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
| Motives | Establishing an independent, secular, and socialist state in Palestine (region). |
| Active regions | West Bank Gaza strip Israel Lebanon Syria |
| Ideology | |
| Size | Unknown |
| Allies | State allies:  Iran Syria  Libya (until 2011)[4] Non-state allies:  Al-Qassam Brigades Al-Quds Brigades National Resistance Brigades Hezbollah |
| Opponents |  Israel |
| Battles and wars | War of Attrition Black September Lebanese Civil War First Intifada Second Intifada Gaza War (2008–2009) 2012 Gaza conflict 2014 Gaza war 2021 Conflict 2023–2024 Gaza war |
| Website | www.abuali.ps |
Personnel
- Abu Jamal (Arabic: أبو جمال, romanized: Abū Jamāl) is the kunya (nom de guerre) of a Palestinian militant commander who is the spokesperson for the organization.[5][6]
History
Originally named the Red Eagle Brigade (Arabic: كتائب النسر الأحمر, romanized: Katā’ib al-Nasr al-Aḥmar), they were renamed in 2001 after Abu Ali Mustafa, PFLP's leader, who was killed by Israel in August 2001. They were active with attacks on both military and civilian Israeli targets during the al-Aqsa Intifada.
On 16 July 2007, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas requested that all Palestinian resistance groups relinquish their weapons to the Palestinian Authority. Although several members of Fatah's armed wing Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades complied, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades rejected this, stating that they will not cease their resistance until the Israelis withdraw from all parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades fought in the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.[citation needed]
Attacks carried out by the Brigades
The PFLP's Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Some of these attacks are:
- The killing of Meir Lixenberg, councilor and head of security in four settlements, who was shot while traveling in his car in the West Bank on 27 August 2001.
- The 17 October 2001 assassination of right-wing Israeli politician and Israeli Minister for Tourism Rehavam Zeevi, the only Israeli politician to have been assassinated in the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
- A suicide bombing in a pizzeria in Karnei Shomron in the West Bank, on 16 February 2002, killing three Israelis.
- A suicide bombing in Ariel on 7 March 2002, which left wounded but no fatalities.
- A suicide bombing in a Netanya market in Israel, on 19 May 2002, killing three Israelis. This attack was also claimed by Hamas, but the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades have identified the perpetrator on their website as one of their members.[7]
- A suicide bombing in the bus station at Geha Junction in Petah Tikva on 25 December 2003 which killed 4 Israelis.[8]
- A suicide bombing in Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council on 22 May 2004, which left no fatalities.[9]
- A suicide bombing in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv on 1 November 2004, which killed 3 Israelis.[10]
- The killing of four Israelis and another eight injured at a synagogue in West Jerusalem on 18 November 2014.[11]
- A rocket attack which struck Sha'ar HaNegev, on 26 June 2017, caused no injuries or damage.[12]
- Murder of Rina Shnerb, August 23, 2019.[13][14]
- During the ongoing Israel–Hamas war (2023-present), the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades published videos of their fighters storming Israeli watchtowers during the Hamas-led 7 October attacks, and are actively participating in the conflict.[15][16][17][18]
Capabilities
According to the CIA World Factbook, the exact strength of the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades is unknown, but in the thousands. Its known weaponry includes small arms, light machine guns, rocket artillery, mortars, man-portable surface-to-air missiles, improvised weapons, and explosives, including IEDs, and suicide vests.[19]
The Brigades also produces its own weaponry alongside smuggling and importing it. These include IEDs, mortars, RPGs, and rockets, alongside others. The Samoud-1 (literally "resilience") is a relatively short range (8–12 km) rocket domestically produced by Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades in the Gaza Strip.[20][21] RPGs used include domestically produced Yasin RPGs, whether these were solely given to the PFLP by Hamas, or if the PFLP can also produce Yasin RPGs is unclear.[22]
The Sariya-1 240mm Mortar is also produced locally by the PFLP, alongside the mortar ammunition. The military doctrine and tactics of the Abu Ali Mustafa brigades preference mortars heavily, even more so than other armed groups. The brigades regularly publishes videos of them bombarding Israeli positions with mortars. In an interview given to the Los Angeles Times Abu Jamal, the spokesman of the brigades made the following statement:
The advantage of the mortar is that the enemy can never protect himself from it. This is not an exceptionally accurate weapon, but that is not important to us. Even if the mortar does not hit the target, we want to cause confusion and panic.[21]
Foreign support
The PFLP, and by extension the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, receive military and financial support by Iran. This relationship probably began around 2013, and although the actual extent of this support is unclear, the PFLP and Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades have repeatedly declared themselves allies of Iran, Syria and the Axis of Resistance.[23][24]
See also
References
- ^ "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (1) Archived 2011-10-17 at the Wayback Machine." Terrorist Group Symbols Database. Anti-Defamation League.
- ^ "Platform of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)" (1969). From Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin, eds., The Israel-Arab Reader (New York: Penguin Books, 2001).
- ^ "Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations ." Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, United States Department of State
- ^ "PFLP, DFLP, PFLP-GC, Palestinian leftists". Council on Foreign Relations.
- ^ "الناطق باسم كتائب أبو علي مصطفى: ايغال العدو في دماء المدنيين لن يلوي ذراعنا أو يوقف قتالنا". الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين (in Arabic). 24 May 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ Hazem, Balousha (17 September 2013). "Iran Increases Aid to PFLP Thanks to Syria Stance - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ Anderson, Sean; Sloan, Stephen (2009). Historical Dictionary of Terrorism. Scarecrow Press. p. 539. ISBN 9780810863118.
- ^ כהן, אבי (25 December 2003). "ארבעה הרוגים בפיגוע בצומת גהה – חדשות". Ynet. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ וייס, אפרת (22 May 2004). "מחבל פוצץ עצמו במחסום בבקעה, חייל נפצ – חדשות". Ynet. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ כהן, אבי (November 2004). "נשים וגבר נרצחו בפיגוע בשוק הכרמל בת"א – חדשות". Ynet. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ "Palestinians kill Israeli worshippers at Jerusalem synagogue". BBC News. 18 November 2014.
- ^ "Rocket fire from Gaza hits southern Israel - Xinhua | English.news.cn". Archived from the original on 8 July 2017.
- ^ "One killed, two wounded in Israeli settlement bomb attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Head of Terror Squad that Murdered Rina Shnerb in Critical Condition following Interrogation | The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com | David Israel | 29 Elul 5779 – September 29, 2019 | JewishPress.com". 30 September 2019. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "صادر عن كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى الجناح العسكري للجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين". الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ Monitor, N. G. O. (30 January 2024). "PFLP Involvement in the October 7 Atrocities » ngomonitor". ngomonitor. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Not only Hamas: eight factions at war with Israel in Gaza". Newsweek. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ "The Order of Battle of Hamas' Izz al Din al Qassem Brigades, Part 1: North and Central Gaza". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ Agency, Central Intelligence (21 June 2022). CIA World Factbook 2022-2023. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5107-7119-2.
- ^ "كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى". كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Palestinian Weapons Production and Smuggling: Missiles, Rockets & Mortars". 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Yasin Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher | MilitaryToday.com". www.militarytoday.com. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Iran Increases Aid to PFLP Thanks to Syria Stance". Al-Monitor. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ Truzman, Joe (11 November 2021). "PFLP Boasts About its Ties to Iran". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
