As with every geopolitical, political, social, and religious event, jihadist groups are always ready to provide their vision or propaganda in response to similar events. Jerusalem, and Palestine in general, have always occupied a prominent place in the propaganda and military objectives of jihadist organizations over the past two decades, and again, the responses of jihadist organizationsand groups have intervened with their reactions to the Palestinian attack on Israel and the beginning of the conflict. The jihadist organizations realized early on that the Palestinian issue uniquely mobilizes the Muslim world. In any case, apart from the instrumental possibility of exploiting the conflict for propaganda and recruitment, there is no doubt that the jihadist ideological basis is founded on the key concept of the refusal of the existence of the State of Israel, born both due to opportunistic choices of the West, the United States, but also, as often recalled by the Qaedist propaganda, due to the incapacity and collusion of the Arab leaders, or for having failed to confront Israel, or for having pursued, or attempted to pursue, peace agreements or normalization with the “enemy”. In addition to rejecting Israel’s existence, Jihadist organizations also believe that the only roads to a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict are armed struggle, violence, and jihad. Indeed, the goals of jihadist organizations are the destruction of Israel and the liberation of al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the al-Aqsa Mosque, a religious obligation for every Muslim, who must either join the struggle or wage individual jihad. These are not primary objectives since Jihad is a path that must first pass through other arenas before arriving in Palestine as the last battle. Of course, the criticism and condemnation of Israel inevitably extend to its main ally, the United States, which has rendered the Jewish state “a crusader military base for Western interests” and thus striking Israel means “directly harming Western powers as well”.
In this context, both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have criticized Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad over the years, and the various Palestinian political and military actors. Jihadist organizations, for example, accuse the Palestinian Authority of being in cahoots with the Israeli government, accusing Hamas of deviating from the correct jihadist ideology, embracing nationalism, not correctly applying Sharia law and maintaining relations with Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis, and the “apostate” Muslim governments of Qatar and Turkey. Condemnation and criticism were also expressed against the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization for having contacts with Israel and its allies. It should be noted that in turn, Hamas and other Palestinian political and military organizationsreject the presence and influence of jihadist-Salafist elements in Palestine, which they consider their involvement unnecessary as well as harmful in the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Since the large-scale attack on 7 October by the Izzedineal-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, which it is important to coordinate and collaborates with other military brigades in the Gaza Strip, the media of the jihadist organizations have been active in publishing propaganda to comment or make statements on the outbreak of the conflict.
Jihadist reactions to the Palestinian attack and the beginning of the conflict with Israel
Seven days after the start of the attack, the propaganda of the jihadist groups has almost all been about what happened, with written statements via the official media, received from al-Qaeda, and Islamic State, but also from some independent jihadist groups.
Al-Qaeda
Most of the reactions to the conflict came from the Qaedist media. The first reaction to the events came on 9 October from al-Malahem Media, the official media of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which issued a three-page statement congratulating the al-Qassam brigades (without ever naming Hamas) and the other Palestinian brigades for the attacks carried out. He then called on all Muslims in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt to prepare and mobilizeto reach Palestine to fight alongside the Palestinian people and support them in their struggle against Israel. Finally, he urges Muslims to provide support in every possible way, by sending money, food, and medicine. Finally, he again addresses all political and military components asking them to remain united and reject anything that could lead to their division. The second reaction came on 10 October from al-Qaeda’s Qaeda affiliate, Hurras al-Din (HaD), through a statement released by its media channel Sham al-Ribat Media, in which it stated that Jerusalem “will never be Judaized”, despite the attempts of “Zionist-Crusaders, Arab tyrants and hypocritical peoples who cause the death of the young and the old, destruction, murder, massacres and corruption”. HaD argues that the time has come to take action, to wage Jihad against the “Zionists and crusaders”because the attack against Gaza is “an attack against all Islam”. The next day, on 11 October, another Qaedist affiliate Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujaheddin, via the official al-Kataib Media published a four-page statement. Also, like AQAP, al-Shabaab does not mention Hamas directly, and in this case not even the al-Qassam brigades, but only refers to them as “the mujaheddin brothers in beloved Palestine”. The Somali jihadist group congratulates the Palestinian fighters on their attack, calling them brave heroes, and accuses and criticizes the Israeli, American, and Western media of “criminalizing heroism” and accusing anyone who carries out Jihad and resistance in Palestine as extremists and terrorists only because they are “trying to free themselves from the occupying oppressor”. Al-Shabaab claims that the attacks by Palestinian groups are a victory against “all crusaders” and have demonstrated Israel’s “weakness and fragility”. Al-Shabaab then broadens the discourse to a concept of Global Jihad, claiming that “this battle against the criminal Jews is not just the battle of the Islamic factions in the land of Palestine, but rather the battle of the entire Muslim Ummah”. Therefore, according to the Somali group, “Muslims must come together and offer all they can to support the Mujahideen against the Jews and their hypocritical infidel allies. The strength of this nation lies in the strength of its jihadist fronts”. In this way, therefore, the Somali jihadist group calls on all Muslims around the world to enlist and accomplish Finally, it concludes with a very interesting passage in which all Jihadist rhetoric is present, as apologizing to Palestinian militants for not being able to do more “if we had found a way to reach you, we would have helped you”, it claims in fact “we are fighting in East Africa because our enemy and your enemy are one. They have rallied against the nation of Islam and joined forces for aggression against the Muslim peoples, East, West, South and North”. On the same day, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), through its official media outlet, Sahab Subcontinent, also congratulated the al-Qassam brigades (without mentioning Hamas) for the military operations conducted. AQIS praises the type of military operations conducted and congratulates the high number of casualties inflicted, the hostages taken, and the spoils of war. AQIS that these attacks erase the humiliation and dishonour that Israel has brought upon Islam. Two days later, on 13 October, Al-Andalus Media and al-Zallaqa Media, the official media channels of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) respectively, issued a two-page joint statement congratulating the “mujaheddin brothers of Palestine and the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigade” on their victories. The joint AQIM/JNIM statement calls on Palestinians not to stop and continue the path of Jihad, arguing that they must resist because “we in al-Qaeda are racing against time to get a chance to reach you to liberate Jerusalem. Our ranks are massed, noisy and boastful”. AQIM and JNIM also address the Palestinians in the West Bank, asking them to hurry to enter the conflict and fight the “Jews and its allies”. The statement then concludes with a call to all Muslims to support the Palestinians because only then will “Jerusalem be liberated”. Finally, on 13 October came the last statement, 3 pages long, directly from the central command of al Qaeda, via the official media of the central leadership, As-Sahab Media. The message from the Qaedist leadership is very strong indeed, a fiery call for a global fight against “crusaders and Zionists”. AQC begins the message by congratulating “the heroes of Islam, the brothers of Palestine”, without ever mentioning Hamas and unlike the other communiqués of its affiliates, without even mentioning the al-Qassam brigades. The Qaedist leadership calls for “targeting Israel and its agents, who have moved to support it and to provide it with deadly ammunition that America will send to Israel”. Then the organization argues that “we are facing a major shift in the global jihadist path, and facing a radical change in the rules of combat” and for this reason begins a lengthy call to Muslims from different areas to support the Palestinians, either by going to fight or by other methods: “target the Crusader battleships that came to strut their stuff in the Muslim seas [...] Muslim peoples go everywhere to fight this battle, wage Jihad with everything you have, boycott everything Western and Jewish, provide material support for our heroes in Palestine”. The leadership of al-Qaeda seems to want to call all Muslims in the surrounding areas to the fight in Palestine, thus widening the clash from local to global: “Let the proud tribes of Sinai's head for the border with Gaza lift the siege on our people and provide them with everything they need in terms of men, money, food, and weapons. Let our people in Jordan, especially their proud tribes, go to the land of Jihad to support their brothers in Palestine to participate in the liberation of Al-Aqsa, just as our people in the Levant must do, who will have to open the gates of hell against Israel on the Golan front, and the people of Lebanon who will have to take up arms against the sons of Zion”.
Then AQC broadens its requests to more distant areas as well as “move with urgency mujaheddin of the Arabian Peninsula, of Africa of the Indian Subcontinent, of the Levant” to make every possible effort to help the Palestinians. The Qaedist leadership then calls on the mujaheddin to target “the Zionists and their interests in the streets of Dubai, Abu Dhabi in the Emirates, Marrakesh and Rabat in Morocco, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and Manama in Bahrain”. Muslims for AQC must also wage Jihad against “the Jewish aggressors and those who are their allies on every land, every sea and every sky [...] for the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to break the siege in Gaza”.
In conclusion, it is interesting to note that the pro-AQ media channels or media channels of supporters and sympathizers, compared to the past, have limited themselves to rejoicing at the event, sharing official media publications, and publishing constant updates on military events from Palestine, as well as criticizing and condemning the bombing of civilians by Israel on the Gaza Strip. Only in one channel on Rockhet Chat did some AQ supporters claim that Israel had allowed the attack and manipulated media reports afterwards to justify the destruction of Gaza.
Islamic State (IS)
Unlike al-Qaeda, the Islamic State has been much less active in the media and the only reaction was published by the central leadership in issue 412 of the weekly al-Naba published on 12 October. IS’s editorial, although addressed to the situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was very limited. IS condemns the Israeli occupation and argues that Muslims must support each other and support the Palestinians because “every Muslim is obliged to support his brother and fight against the infidel” The editorial is short and full of religious passages. This once again shows how IS avoids addressing the Palestinian issue, as it has done in the past, and prefers to deal with other areas where its provinces are militarily active.
Even the Pro-IS channels of supporters and sympathizers, apart from rejoicing and celebrating the killing of so many Israelis and sharing some posters, there was no major reaction to the events. The only noteworthy reaction is within a channel of IS supporters on Rockhet Chat in which they rejoice at the death of many Israelis, but at the same time claim that Hamas is an “apostate” movement that pursues “harmful political goals on behalf of Iran”, and call on the fighters of the Palestinian brigades to choose instead the right path of joining the Islamic State.
There is thus a big difference between al-Qaeda calling for a strong mobilization of the masses and also providing military support, IS merely condemns Israel and makes a bland call for Muslim support.
Other groups
As for other reactions within the Jihadist Galaxy, official statements only came from Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP) and an Iranian jihadist group operating in Syria alongside Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), called Harakat al-Muhajireen al-Sunnath Iran.
The TTP issued a one-page statement through its official media outlet Umar Media, congratulating the Palestinians for the attack and the damage caused to Israel, claiming that “the whole Muslim Ummah should stand up and try to stop the oppressor”, stating that “the Muslim Ummah has the right to help and support the Palestinian Muslims as much as possible against Israel, which after the partition of 1948 brought atrocities against thousands of Muslims and wars that may never end”.
On the other hand, the Harakat al-Muhajireen al-Sunnath Iranian jihadist group, a group composed of Iranian Sunnis and operating in northwestern Syria, via Qadisiyah Media, issued a two-page statement claiming that Gaza is a “symbol of Jihad and honour”. The group argues that Muslims have been oppressed for years by unbelievers, infidels, and enemies of Islam and that the oppression of Palestine joins those of Syria, East Turkestan, Iraq, Yemen, etc., and that the “criminal regime of Israel, is the main axis of the struggle against the Islamic world, which expels and displaces Palestinian Muslims from their homeland and captures thousands of men, women, and children, or kills them”. It therefore congratulates “the lion-men of the Gaza Strip who are creating epics and have shown the world that the advanced facilities and equipment of the usurper Israel and its allies cannot stop Jihad”. The group calls on all Muslims to “not hesitate to provide any material aid to help the Palestinian people and in particular the people of Gaza”. The statement closes with the hope that this clash will “revive the jihadist spirit of the Islamic Ummah and save the land of Palestine from the clutches of the Jews and the land of Syria from the regime of Bashar al-Assad and their allies and turn the land into the centre of Islamic power”.
Finally, the media channels of the jihadist groups Mujaheddin Ghuroba Division and Xhemati Alban, the former a jihadist group composed of Uyghurs, Uzbeks, and Tajiks and the latter a group composed of Albanians and Kosovars operating in northwest Syria and aligned with HTS, have not published official statements but are daily publishing all the propaganda material of Hamas, the al-Qassam brigades, and other Palestinian brigades, as well as criticizing and condemning Israel.