Islamic Jihad

Islamic Jihad may be one of the best known names associated with Palestinian militancy, but it has always been a relatively small and shadowy organisation.

The group - made up of a handful of loosely affiliated factions divided up into cells - has traditionally concentrated on military assaults and terrorist strikes against Israel, eschewing the prominent social, welfare and political role taken on by other Islamist groups like Hamas or the Lebanon's Hezbollah.

This is a reflection of Jihad's ideological stance which holds that the Arab-Israeli conflict will only be resolved through armed confrontation.

Israel is considered - along with pro-Western, secular Arab regimes - as a manifestation of Western imperialism in the Islamic lands; going into battle against it is therefore the first step to fulfilling the goals of Islam.