Disrupting Palestinian Islamic Jihad a smart play by Israel

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a military campaign Friday against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a U.S.-designated terrorist group, in Gaza. The campaign, known as Operation Breaking Dawn, is designed to decapitate the Gaza wing of Iran-aligned PIJ, which has held large swaths of the Israeli population hostage for the past four days by threatening attacks against Israel.

The PIJ threats began earlier this week after the IDF arrested Bassem al-Saadi, the leader of the group’s West Bank wing, in Jenin. Israel alleges that al-Saadi not only spearheaded an ongoing military buildup of PIJ operatives in the West Bank, but also served as a driving force for radicalization in the region. Israel wanted to put a stop to al-Saadi’s efforts but could not rely on the Palestinian Authority to carry out the task: The presence of Hamas and PIJ in Jenin has made the city an inhospitable place for Palestinian Authority security forces.

Following al-Saadi’s arrest, PIJ placed its fighters on high alert. In a haphazard roadside press conference, PIJ militants announced in Hebrew that they were awaiting instructions from the PIJ’s central leadership in Gaza. They added that if PIJ launches a war from the coastal enclave, they would do the same in the West Bank. Operation Breaking Dawn aims to deter such a conflict.

With tensions rising, PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhaleh traveled to Tehran, where he met on Wednesday with President Ebrahim Raisi, among others. PIJ is heavily dependent on Iran for both financial and military support. Its actions are likely to reflect the priorities of Tehran’s clerical regime more than those of the Palestinians.

Historically, PIJ has not responded militarily to Israeli arrests. However, the incarceration of al-Saadi struck a nerve, and the terror organization threatened violence against Israel. Nevertheless, while the PIJ remains the second most powerful organization in Gaza, Hamas exercises far greater authority and may ultimately decide whether to approve retaliation beyond the dozens of rockets PIJ fired.

In anticipation of a PIJ military response out of Gaza, the IDF took defensive measures, closing roads in southern Israel, locking down communities in proximity to the strip, and halting train services in the south of the country. On Friday morning the IDF canceled weekend leave for combat soldiers and ordered reinforcements for the IDF Gaza Division.

While PIJ does not pose an existential threat to Israelis, PIJ can do significant damage, and on Friday evening sirens could be heard throughout Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters.

This episode that began with the arrest of a PIJ leader in Jenin, provides a revealing glimpse into a dangerous landscape where the Palestinian Authority is losing its grip on the West Bank and increasingly relying on the IDF to maintain stability there.

The IDF has seen increased activity in Jenin and other West Bank cities this year following a spate of terror attacks in Israel between March and May that killed 19 Israelis. The goal of the IDF operations in the West Bank was to clamp down on terrorist activity originating from the area. Since the beginning of 2022, the IDF has arrested or killed dozens of Palestinian militants, with a significant number of the casualties occurring in Jenin. IDF incursions into the West Bank carry risk and can lead to operational errors and inadvertent escalation.

When 87-year-old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas finally steps down — either voluntarily or due to incapacitation — the least-bad choice for the United States and Israel is for the Fatah party to continue its rule of the West Bank. However, given Fatah’s weak hold and antagonistic relationship with Hamas and PIJ, it seems increasingly likely that the area will dissolve into chaos, as armed factions battle for control, with the IDF having no choice but to step into the fray, potentially leading to new spirals of violence in the West Bank and Gaza.

Congress and the Biden administration should support the IDF’s counterterrorism operations and insist that Israel has a right to defend itself against terror. These IDF operations are necessary not only to tamp down ongoing violence, but also to remove the most threatening players off the chess board for the looming Palestinian succession battle in the West Bank. In so doing, the campaign ultimately advances stability in the region as well as U.S. and Israeli interests.

Enia Krivine is the senior director of the Israel Program and the National Security Network at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow Enia on Twitter at @EKrivine.