Islamic terrorism

==== Israel and the Palestinian territories ====
{{Main|Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}

[[Hamas]] ("zeal" in Arabic and an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya) grew in power and began attacks on military and civilian targets in [[Israel]] at the beginning of the [[First Intifada]] in 1987.<ref>p. 154, ''Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam'' by Gilles Kepel (2002)</ref> The 1988 charter of Hamas calls for the destruction of [[Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm |title=The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) |publisher=Mideastweb.org |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> Hamas's armed wing, the [[Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades]], was established in mid 1991<ref name=EQB>"About us". Al-Qassam Brigades Information Office. Retrieved 15 July 2016</ref> and claimed responsibility for [[Hamas#Violence|numerous attacks]] against Israelis, principally [[List of Palestinian suicide attacks|suicide bombings]] and [[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|rocket attacks]]. Hamas has been accused of sabotaging the Israeli-Palestine peace process by launching attacks on civilians during Israeli elections to anger Israeli voters and facilitate the election of harder-line Israeli candidates.<ref>''Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam'' by Gilles Kepel, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, (2002), p. 331</ref> Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by Canada, the United States, Israel, Australia, Japan, the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] and [[Human Rights Watch]]. It is banned in Jordan. Russia does not consider Hamas a terrorist group as it was "democratically elected".<ref>{{cite web|last=Waked|first=Ali|author2=Roee Nahmias|date=9 February 2006|title=Putin: Hamas not a terror organization|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3213707,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060324183227/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3213707,00.html|archive-date=24 March 2006|access-date=11 February 2022|work=Ynet|location=Israel}}</ref> During the [[Second Intifada]] (September 2000 through August 2005) 39.9 percent of the suicide attacks were carried out by Hamas.<ref name="BenmelechBerrebi2007">{{cite journal|last2=Berrebi|first2=Claude|date=Summer 2007|title=Human Capital and the Productivity of Suicide Bombers|url=http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/benmelech/files/JEP_0807.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Economic Perspectives]] |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=223–38 |doi=10.1257/jep.21.3.223 |issn=0895-3309 |last1=Benmelech |first1=Efraim |author-link1=Efraim Benmelech |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707185129/http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/benmelech/files/JEP_0807.pdf |archive-date=7 July 2010}}</ref> The first Hamas suicide attack was the [[Mehola Junction bombing]] in 1993.<ref>Katz, Samuel (2002). ''The Hunt for the Engineer''. Lyons Press. {{ISBN|978-1585747498}}. p. 74.</ref> Hamas claims its aims are "To contribute in the effort of liberating [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and restoring the rights of the Palestinian people under the sacred Islamic teachings of the Holy Quran, the Sunna (traditions) of Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the traditions of Muslims rulers and scholars noted for their piety and dedication."<ref name=EQB />

[[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine]] is a Palestinian Islamist group based in the [[Syria]]n capital, [[Damascus]], and dedicated to waging jihad to eliminate the state of Israel. It was formed by Palestinian Fathi Shaqaqi in the Gaza Strip following the [[Iranian Revolution]] which inspired its members. From 1983 onward, it engaged in "a succession of violent, high-profile attacks" on Israeli targets. The Intifada which "it eventually sparked" was quickly taken over by the much larger [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] and Hamas.<ref>p. 122, ''Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam'' by Gilles Kepel</ref> Beginning in September 2000, it started a campaign of suicide bombing attacks against Israeli civilians. The PIJ's armed wing, the Al-Quds brigades, has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks in Israel, including suicide bombings. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by several Western countries.

[[Popular Resistance Committees]] is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of the [[Palestinian Authority]] and [[Fatah]] towards Israel. The PRC is especially active in the [[Gaza Strip]], through its military wing, the [[Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades]].<ref>Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (15 September 2009). [http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/09/15/UNFFMGCReport.pdf "Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories"] (PDF). London: ''[[The Guardian]]''. Retrieved 15 July 2016.</ref> The PRC is said to have an extreme Islamic worldview and operates with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement. The PRC has carried out several attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers including hundreds of shooting attacks and other rocket and bombing attacks.<ref>[http://www.jcpa.org/brief/brief005-24.htm "The Popular Resistance Committees: Hamas' New Partners? – Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan D. Halevi"]. Retrieved 15 July 2016.</ref>

Other groups linked with [[Al-Qaeda]] operate in the Gaza Strip including: [[Army of Islam (Gaza Strip)|Army of Islam]], [[Abdullah Azzam Brigades]], [[Jund Ansar Allah]], [[Jaljalat]] and [[Tawhid al-Jihad (Gaza Strip)|Tawhid al-Jihad]].