April 14, 2016 | Quoted by Sean Durns - JNS

Media miss emergence of new Iranian-funded Palestinian terror group

A new Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group has emerged—and by appearances, it may be expanding. In less than two years, Harakat as-Sabeeren Nasran il-Filastin (The Movement for the Patient Ones for the Liberation of Palestine), also known as al-Sabireen, has committed several terrorist attacks against Israel, drawn worries from rival terror groups, and promoted its “brand” through an ambitious social media presence. Yet major U.S. print and online news outlets have failed to report the rise of this group, which calls for Israel’s destruction and openly advertises the support it receives from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Al-Sabireen first appeared in the late spring of 2014 as a splinter from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group. The reasons for al-Sabireen’s founding are unclear. Some analysts, such as Jonathan Schanzer and Grant Rumley of the Washington DC-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, wrote in June 2014 that a Hamas-Fatah unity deal for Palestinian governance may have provided the impetus. In an interview with Al-Monitor, a self-identified member of al-Sabireen named Mohammad Harb explained the group’s origins. Harb claimed al-Sabireen was formed by some PIJ members when their demands for a return to the pro-Khomenei ideology of Islamic Jihad’s founder, Fathi Shakaki, were spurned.

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Issues:

Iran Palestinian Politics