Palestinian Islamic Jihad plans to turn Ramadan into 'month of terror' against Israel

The Iranian-backed terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) reportedly said it plans to turn the upcoming Muslim holiday of Ramadan into a “month of terror” against the Jewish state.

PIJ, an ally of the Hamas terrorist organization, is also located in the Gaza Strip and warned that it will increase the levels of terrorism in the coastal enclave, as well as in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank.

PIJ spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza, issued the terror threats in a video message ahead of the Ramadan holiday, which begins next Sunday.

“There is no excuse for anyone to refrain from the battle. We are able to continue the battle, no matter how long it lasts. Our message to the enemy and the leader of the herd, Netanyahu, is that the issue of the next day in Gaza is determined only by the Palestinian resistance,” Hamza urged.

Like Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, the PIJ is an integrated component in the Iranian regime’s vast terror proxy network, which targets Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East, as well as threatens moderate Arab governments.

The pro-Iranian news outlet Al-Mayadeen published Hamza’s call for an escalation of terrorism against the Jewish state.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh recently made similar threats, inciting Muslims to attack Israel and march toward the Temple Mount in the Israeli capital Jerusalem.

In late February, at least one Israeli was killed and several wounded in a terrorist attack close to Maaleh Adumim, an Israeli town near Jerusalem and just outside the Green Line that separates Judea and Samaria from pre-1967 Israel.

Hamza further urged other Jihadist groups to “unify” various fronts against the Jewish state.

The Islamist regime of Iran has invested considerable resources in building a ring of terror on Israel’s borders, with Hamas and PIJ in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezbollah in Lebanon and pro-Iranian terror militias in Syria and Iraq.

In addition, the Iranian-backed Yemenite-based Houthi militia has targeted southern Israel and has been disrupting international shipping trade with missile attacks against vessels in the strategically vital Red Sea.

PIJ has concentrated its military resources primarily in Gaza and to a lesser extent in Judea and Samaria. Like Hamas, the majority of PIJ’s top leadership resides abroad, primarily in countries like Syria and Lebanon.

The senior PIJ official also urged Arab states to not “lag behind in the battle led by the heroes of the resistance in the Gaza Strip, on behalf of the Islamic nation, especially those who possess armies, planes and cannons.”

Hamza urged the wider Arab world to join the fight.

“Isn’t it time for you to raise your guns like the free people in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq? Isn’t it time for you to take off the garment of slavery and humiliation to America, the Great Satan, and follow the example of the honorable,” Hamza asked rhetorically.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has reportedly hardened regional Arab hostility towards Israel.

Almost 90% of the Arab world opposes normalization with Israel, according to a February poll conducted by the Arab Center in Washington, D.C. (ACW).

However, there is a wide gap in perceptions between the Arab masses and moderate Arab states, many of which favor diplomatic and political solutions to the conflict and view the activities of Hamas and PIJ as detrimental to achieving a peaceful resolution.