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Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Iran's Branch in Gaza
(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Yaakov Lappin - Lt.-Col. (res.) Michael Segall, a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and a former head of the Iran Branch at the Israel Defense Forces' Military Intelligence Directorate, described Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as a "kind of Iranian branch inside the Gaza Strip." The PIJ's former leader, Ramadan Salah, as well as its current chief, Ziad Nakhalah, are "familiar guests" in Iran. With Iran conducting training sessions for PIJ inside the Islamic Republic, the organization is an "explicit proxy of Iran, in contrast to Hamas, which is under Iranian influence but has its own agenda and is more independent." Segall summed up the Iranian proxy strategy: "The more Israel bleeds on its borders, the less it can engage Iran directly. This is a central component in Iranian doctrine. It's about asymmetric warfare....The Iranians work with a proxy toolbox against the Saudis, the Egyptians and Gulf states. This is not limited to Gaza." The writer is a Research Associate at the Begin-Sadat Center.