The “Islamic State” position on the war in Gaza

Dr. Marwan Shehadeh

Although Palestine and “Jerusalem” are strongly present in the religious, political and media discourse of armed and non-armed Islamic groups, organizations and factions, their position is not united in working to liberate it from the Zionist occupation, and it falls between advocacy work to armed action.

Most of the Islamic groups and organizations spread around the world have not succeeded in having a strong and effective presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, except through individual attempts. The number of members of these groups does not exceed dozens. By that, I mean those groups that belong to Salafist jihadism, which considers the establishment of religion The declaration of the Caliphate is at the top of the list of mobilization and ideological polarization at the core of its work, and the issue of the conflict with the Zionist enemy is similar to the conflicts taking place in the Islamic world.

The Islamic groups that belong to the description of “National-Islamic” movements and organizations have succeeded in having an effective presence in occupied Palestine, at the level of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, amid the presence of national Palestinian organizations, such as the Fatah movement and the Popular and Democratic Fronts, and the jihadi groups have failed to find a ground for Solid armed organization therein, due to different subjective and objective circumstances.

“Islamic State” position on the Palestinian issue and the war in Gaza:

The following question comes to mind: Where are the jihadi organizations, led by Al-Qaeda and the “Islamic State”, in the ongoing war in Gaza?

Before answering the question, we must differentiate between the position of both organizations, while Al-Qaeda supports the Palestinian Islamic resistance factions, despite the ideological difference and political position on the alliance with Iran.

The “Islamic State” organization takes a strict stance against the Iranian alliance with those Palestinian factions, and does not consider the Palestinian issue to be its compass, but rather views it as one of the Muslim issues that cannot be reduced to it.

To know the position of the “Islamic State” organization on the Palestinian issue and the war in Gaza, we monitored and documented most of the propaganda posters issued by the organization that reflect its position, which is based on the ideology that it carries and calls for, and it became clear that its activities and response to what is happening are nothing more than a reinforcement of that ideology, and show the extent to which The difference with Hamas and other factions amounts to describing them as “apostate movements”.

The organization considers the battle with the “Jews” to be a religious battle, not a national battle, because of the land, soil, and borders. It does not derive its legitimacy from international organizations or laws that it describes as man-made ignorance, but rather derives it from the Qur’an and Sunnah.

The battle with the Jews will continue until their demise and not through the peaceful solutions proposed, such as a state or two-state solution, but rather a battle of existence that ends with the killing of the Antichrist.

On the other hand; The poster addressed to the Palestinian fighter reflects that merely participating in the fight against the Jews is not an indication of the correctness of the path he is on, and it equates the communist and nationalist fighter who previously participated and are still participating in their fight, and that the goal of their fight is not for the sake of promoting the word of God and implementing Sharia law, and that is an accusation. My implication is that Hamas does not seek to implement Sharia law, and that its fighting is not for the sake of God.

All of these descriptions and accusations made by the organization are inaccurate, and they are an attempt by it to monopolize Islamic military, political and advocacy work for itself and within its only vision, which it considers correct and anything less than it is invalid.

The other poster directed at the Palestinian fighter states that he must correct the course by participating in the fighting by the rule of heaven, not by the rule of the earth, under the shadow of God’s law, not the law of mankind. This is a call for the organization that it represents the only correct side, and the groups and factions below it, even if their members are honest, are misguided.

As for the poster regarding the position of the “Islamic State” on the war in Gaza, it equates that with its position on all other Muslim issues in the world, and this reflects the extent of the organization’s inability to appreciate the importance of the issues and priorities of the Islamic nation on the one hand, and its inability to participate in weakening the capabilities of the Zionist enemy. Or contribute to military operations that would stop its crimes against the Palestinian people, and lift the injustice done to them in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The organization continues to describe those who fight for the homeland and nationalism as an invalid fight, and it is, as it described it, a “sedition” fight, and its goal is not for the sake of God to govern the Sharia, and the image used in the poster indicates the organization’s dissatisfaction with the existing alliance between Iran and Hamas.

The organization confirms its position on the battle with the Jews that it is religious, not national, and that the origin of the hostility is due to the Jews’ hostility to religion and fighting the prophets, and that the battle is not because of land and soil – the homeland -.

  The organization does not differentiate between hostility toward Jews and Christians, and it faults those who differentiate between them for making mistakes. It relies on the concept of loyalty and disavowal, and does not make any distinctions between those who fight among them and those who support the Zionist entity and those who are not combatants or supporters, in a clear expression of its lack of acceptance of any type. Of alliance, sympathy, or understanding with countries that stand opposed to American and Zionist policies, and the war in Gaza.

The organization continues its attack on the Hamas movement and some of its leaders residing outside Palestine, citing as an example the presence of Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, thereby forgetting the political and media role that he plays. His presence, in my estimation, may have been at the request of the movement’s leadership in the Gaza Strip, especially after the arrival of Yahya Sinwar to the movement’s leadership in sector.

We must point out that Hazem, the son of Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli aircraft attack.

The position of the “Islamic State” organization towards others reflects the extent of the organization’s hostility toward them. It is, in fact, a religious position based on the organization’s ideology, in which it excludes legitimate politics regarding the harms or interests that result from it. It also reflects the explanation for its inability to find allies. From scholars and opinion leaders from individuals and communities, not to mention the groups and factions that rely on an Islamic vision in their proposals, and this in itself is sufficient reason for him to reach a state of failure and extremism in the situation, in many regions.

This war revealed that the extremist and extremist position on the other weakens the group that adopts it, and proved that Hamas, in its moderation with the other, made it a movement rooted in a wide segment and gained Arab and Islamic sympathy, while recognizing it as a just cause in this war.