The Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group has come out with a statement slamming Israel’s airstrikes on Syria. One the one hand this seems normal because many groups and countries have critiqued Israel’s strikes on Syria. However, the current statement is part of a wider Iranian influence operation aimed at making it seem that Iran and groups like PIJ are on the side of the new Syrian government. Iran was an ally of the Assad regime and Iranian-backed groups have opposed the new government in Syria.
Iran condemned Israel’s strikes on Syria on May 3. Now PIJ has said that “Arab, Islamic nations will not be safe from Israel’s aggression on Syria.” PIJ leaders once resided in Damascus. However, they appear to have left after the fall of the Assad regime.
The new government detained two members of PIJ in April. Rumors on social media suggest the new government has also detained members of the Palestinian PFLP group. This means that Palestinian groups that used to partner with the Assad regime are now less welcome in Damascus. They want to be welcomed. Therefore they are trying to show they condemn Israel’s strikes on Syria.
Iranian state media IRNA wrote on May 4 that “the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement considered Israel’s aggression against Syria to be an expression of the regime's expansionist plans.”
The report went on to note, “the Islamic Jihad Movement has said that the Israel’s aggressions are against all Arab and Islamic nations, especially Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, and that the rest of the Arab regions will not be safe from these aggressions and their consequences.”
PIJ said that it “deemed such aggressions against Syria to be an expression of the regime's expansionist plans. According to the Palestinian news agency Sama, the Islamic Jihad Movement in a statement condemned the continuous aggressions of the Israeli regime on Syrian territory.” The group said the Israeli strikes were “clear evidence of the aggressive and expansionist plans of the occupying regime against the Arab and Islamic nations within the framework of dividing the region.”
The statement went on to note “the aggressions of this criminal regime against Syria are a direct aggression, not only against the Syrian nation but also against all Arab and Islamic nations, especially in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, and the rest of the Arab regions will not be safe from these aggressions and their consequences.”
PIJ ties with the new regime in Syria
PIJ wants to ingratiate itself back into Syria and also work with other Palestinian groups there. Most of these groups backed Assad and they are not welcome today by the new government of Ahmed al-Shara’a. It remains to be seen if Israel’s airstrikes will cause Shara’a to embrace these groups and if Iran can return to find a way back to Damascus by condemning Israel’s strikes. Clearly, Iran is now aiming to return to Damascus.