It has been revealed that the commander of the militant wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the northern Gaza Strip, which is openly backed by Iran, was responsible for violating the truce arrangement understandings that were reached between Israel and the Islamist organizations in Gaza in the last few months, including the sniper fire last week, and he has continued to try to cause the situation to escalate. The terrorist, Abu al-Atta, also known as Abu Salim, survived an assassination attempt in the past by Israel when the building that he was in was targeted a 2012 Gaza war, which is dubbed in Israel, operation pillar of defense. According to Palestinian sources, Abu Salim is currently in a power struggle with the leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziyad Nakhalah, who is currently living in Lebanon. In response to the report, which was initially revealed by Israeli media and verified by TV7, the Islamic Jihad’s military wing issued an official statement in which it said that the incitement against Abu al-Atta would not sway it from continuing its jihadist path but would rather make it more resolute.
It is important to note that the current leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziyad Nakhalah, is considered to be the key reason for the strong support of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Gaza Strip, including to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and plays a key role in transferring Iran’s support to the Palestinian organizations within the enclave. Furthermore, intelligence sources told TV7 that contrary to Abu Salim, Nakhalah has close relations with senior Iranian officials, including Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds Force.