RH DOSSIER / Armed partner / force

Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Purpose
A Palestinian Islamist armed organization whose stated objective is to replace Israel with an Islamic state in historic Palestine. [30]
Size and reach
About 1,000 members in the State Department’s report covering 2024, published May 2026. That estimate counts members, not a verified current force of deployable fighters. [30]
Why this alignment
Iran is its principal source of financial assistance and training. Shared opposition to Israel reinforces that dependence; Lebanese Hezbollah has also provided sanctuary and cooperation. [30]
State nexus: Iran
STATE NEXUSIran
REPORTED AREAPalestinian territories
LATEST CITED RECORD2026-05-01
RH SOURCE REVIEW13 October 2026

01 / STATE RELATIONSHIP

Iranian state

ODNI identifies Iran as a major contributor to Palestinian Islamic Jihad; the State Department also records Iranian support.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence · 2024-07 ↗U.S. Department of State (archived) · 2023 ↗

Where the evidence stops

This dated support relationship does not establish the origin or direction of every operation. Current leadership and force strength are outside this record.

The cited dates establish the scope of this record. They do not confirm current operational capacity, complete membership or a present-day legal designation.

PUBLIC RECORD

Sources

  1. Assessment of Iran's regional and global activities ↗

    Office of the Director of National Intelligence · 2024-07

  2. Country Reports on Terrorism 2023 ↗

    U.S. Department of State (archived) · 2023 · Reporting period, not current status

  3. Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Country Reports on Terrorism 2024 ↗

    U.S. State Department, reproduced by ecoi.net · 2026-05-01 · Covers 2024; the strength figure is not a 2026 count