Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades

Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى Katāʾib Abū ʿAlī Muṣṭafā
Leaders	Ahmad Sa'adat Abu Jamal (spokesperson)
Dates of operation	1967–present
Allegiance	Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Motives	Establishing an independent, secular, and socialist state inPalestine (region).
Active regions	West Bank Gaza strip Israel Lebanon Syria
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Leninism Guevarism Foco theory Revolutionary socialism Palestinian nationalism Anti-Zionism Secularism
Size	Unknown
Allies	State allies: Iran Syria Libya(until 2011)Non-state allies: Al-Qassam Brigades Al-Quds Brigades National Resistance Brigades Hezbollah
Opponents	Israel
Battles and wars	War of Attrition Black September Lebanese Civil War First Intifada Second Intifada Gaza War (2008–2009) 2012 Gaza conflict 2014 Gaza war 2021 Conflict 2023–2024 Gaza war
Website	abuali.ps

TheBrigades of the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa(Arabic:كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى,romanized:Katāʾib Ash-Shahīd Abū ʿAlī Muṣṭafā) are the armed wing of the Marxist-LeninistPopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine(PFLP) in thePalestinian territories(theWest Bank,GazaandEast Jerusalem).

Personnel

• Abu Jamal (Arabic:أبو جمال,romanized:Abū Jamāl) is thekunya(nom de guerre) of a Palestinian militant commander who is thespokespersonfor the organization.

History

Originally named theRed Eagle Brigade(Arabic:كتائب النسر الأحمر,romanized:Katā’ib al-Nasr al-Aḥmar), they were renamed in 2001 afterAbu Ali Mustafa,PFLP's leader, who was killed by Israel in August 2001. They were active with attacks on both military and civilianIsraelitargets during theal-Aqsa Intifada.

On 16 July 2007,Palestinian presidentMahmoud Abbasrequested that all Palestinian resistance groups relinquish their weapons to thePalestinian Authority.Although several members ofFatah's armed wingAl-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigadescomplied, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades rejected this, stating that they will not cease their resistance until the Israelis withdraw from all parts of theWest Bankand theGaza Strip.

The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades fought in the2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.

Attacks carried out by the Brigades

See also:List of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine suicide attacks

The PFLP's Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during theAl-Aqsa Intifada.Some of these attacks are:

• The killing of Meir Lixenberg, councilor and head of security in four settlements, who was shot while traveling in his car in theWest Bankon 27 August 2001.
• The 17 October 2001 assassination of right-wing Israeli politician and Israeli Minister for TourismRehavam Zeevi,the only Israeli politician to have been assassinated in theAl-Aqsa Intifada.
• A suicide bombing in a pizzeria inKarnei Shomronin the West Bank, on 16 February 2002, killing three Israelis.
• A suicide bombing inArielon 7 March 2002, which left wounded but no fatalities.
• A suicide bombing in a Netanyamarket in Israel, on 19 May 2002, killing three Israelis. This attack was also claimed byHamas,but the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades have identified the perpetrator on their website as one of their members.
• A suicide bombing in the bus station atGeha JunctioninPetah Tikvaon 25 December 2003 which killed 4 Israelis.
• A suicide bombing inBik'at HaYarden Regional Councilon 22 May 2004, which left no fatalities.
• A suicide bombing in theCarmel MarketinTel Avivon 1 November 2004, which killed 3 Israelis.
• The killing of four Israelis and another eight injured at a synagogue inWest Jerusalemon 18 November 2014.
• A rocket attack which struckSha'ar HaNegev,on 26 June 2017, caused no injuries or damage.
• Murder of Rina Shnerb,August 23, 2019.

• During the ongoingIsrael–Hamas war(2023-present), the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades published videos of their fighters storming Israeli watchtowers during theHamas-led 7 October attacks,and are actively participating in the conflict.

Capabilities

According to theCIA World Factbook,the exact strength of the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades is unknown, but in the thousands. Its known weaponry includessmall arms,light machine guns,rocket artillery,mortars,man-portable surface-to-air missiles,improvised weapons,and explosives, includingIEDs,andsuicide vests.

The Brigades also produces its own weaponry alongside smuggling and importing it. These include IEDs, mortars,RPGs,and rockets, alongside others. TheSamoud-1(literally "resilience" ) is a relatively short range (8–12 km) rocket domestically produced by Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades in theGaza Strip.RPGs used include domestically producedYasin RPGs,whether these were solely given to the PFLP byHamas,or if the PFLP can also produce Yasin RPGs is unclear.

TheSariya-1 240mm Mortaris also produced locally by the PFLP, alongside the mortar ammunition. The military doctrine and tactics of the Abu Ali Mustafa brigades preference mortars heavily, even more so than other armed groups. The brigades regularly publishes videos of them bombarding Israeli positions with mortars. In an interview given to the Los Angeles Times Abu Jamal, the spokesman of the brigades made the following statement:

The advantage of the mortar is that the enemy can never protect himself from it. This is not an exceptionally accurate weapon, but that is not important to us. Even if the mortar does not hit the target, we want to cause confusion and panic.

Foreign support

The PFLP, and by extension the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, receive military and financial support byIran.This relationship probably began around 2013, and although the actual extent of this support is unclear, the PFLP and Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades have repeatedly declared themselves allies of Iran,Syriaand theAxis of Resistance.

See also

• Palestinian Joint Operations Room
• Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
• Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front
• Syrian Resistance
• List of military units named after people