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# Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (Palestine)

## Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn

Last modified: 2026-04-11 by ian macdonald
Keywords: islamic jihad movement | jihad | harakat al-jihad al-islami | mosque | firearm: assault rifle | gun | map: palestine | text: arabic (gold) | text: arabic (white) | fist | shahada |
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image by Eugene Ipavec, 14 Sep 2005

- Description
- Shahada Flag Attributed to PIJ
- Variants
- Al-Quds Brigade
- Emblem

See also:

- Political Parties (Palestine)

## Description

I saw a television report about the training camps of the Islamic Jihad for junior members. In the report the members show black flags with some golden Arabic writing (I am not sure if it was the Shahada).
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad was originated in the Gaza Strip during the 1970s. The first leader Fathi Shaqaqi was murdered in Malta in October 1995. Normally take Israeli soldiers as targets. The group operates primarily in Israel, but has also carried out attacks in Jordan and Lebanon. The faction has a small support base. Unlike the far bigger Hamas, which runs schools and hospitals, Islamic Jihad has no real social or political role. The group is based in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its financial backing is believed to come from there and Iran. Islamic Jihad is committed to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel through holy war. It also opposes pro-Western Arab governments. Sources: BBC and CNN.
Santiago Tazón, 24 Jul 2001

I recently saw the flag of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in news reports. The flag was carried by young men, during the funerals of a young Palestinian, killed in demonstrations. It is black with yellow Arabic writings. There is a shahada in the upper half of the flag, written in a calligraphy resembling that of the Taliban regime's flag. As for the lower half, it contains the full name of the movement, written in the same kind of Arabic scripts used in newspapers. The word "jihad" is the biggest one, the word "harakat" (movement) is smaller, and written over the first one, on the right, and the word "islami" is also smaller and written under "jihad," on the left.
Omar Amastan Mouffok, 26 Dec 2001

The flag of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a Vertical black flag with the Shahada and the Islamic Jihad's coat of arms (both in yellow outline and lettering).
Esteban Rivera, 14 Sep 2005

The official name of the group does certainly include "Palestine" in it, as well as "Harakat" – is that "movement"?
I guess Esteban refers to these images from the BBC website, where also some horizontal (i.e. length > height) flags can be seen. The top half of these is black and with similar inscriptions and a shorter inscription in a bold-ish font; the bottom half is the Palestinian flag.
Santiago Dotor, 14 Sep 2005

The PIJ apparently uses a number of variations on this basic design – in the BBC photos some had additional text above and below the logo, sometimes enclosed in cartouche-like boxes, plus decorative edging and upright AK-47s, all in gold. The above flag is a basic model with only the two elements that seemed to feature on all of the variations – the emblem and the shahada.
Eugene Ipavec, 14 Sep 2005

image located by William Garrison, 2 November 2024

Below the "Islamic Jihad Movement" logo, the bottom line reads: "al-jihad al-islamiu" or "Islamic Jihad". A hidden flagpole sleeve is on the right side.
Source: https://3sjshop.com/products/palestinian-islamic-jihad-al-quds-brigades-flag/
William Garrison, 18 November 2023

image located by William Garrison, 18 November 2023

Vertical variety. Top line is Muslim shahada "Declaration of Faith". "Islamic Jihad Movement" logo at bottom; c. 2004.
William Garrison, 23 December 2023

## Shahada Flag Attributed to PIJ

image by Eugene Ipavec, 09 Nov 2007

I don't read Arabic, but I think that the white verbage on this black flag is the normal shahada: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger." This language is similar to what is seen on the green Saudi Arabian flag. But what is different with this Islamic Jihad flag is that all of the language is artistically warped into a "ball" logo. I don't know what the Arabs might call this type of artistic design, but I'm sure there is something – besides "attractive."
William Garrison, 08 Nov 2007

While I don't know anything about the subject either, going by Wikipedia's article on Islamic calligraphy, I would tentatively label this a simple caligram in the Thuluth style.
Regarding the flag itself, is there a known conection between this particular design and Palestinian Islamic Jihad? I ask because the PIJ has (otherwise) an unusually consistent color scheme; all the group's flags I have seen in photos have been black with various charges (the PIJ sea;, AK-47s, (normal) shahadas, etc.) in gold.
Eugene Ipavec, 09 Nov 2007

Why this flag has been designed in the shown manner, I do not know. Maybe they just got bored with the Saudi Arabia flag version and decided to try something new. It seems too simple to always refer to a "black flag" as the military-wing of some Islamic Palestinian group, but that seems to be the history.
William Garrison, 15 Nov 2007

## Variants

image by Raed Badawi, 14 Oct 2006

image by Eugene Ipavec, 09 Mar 2009

image located by William Garrison, 3 December 2019

Source: source: https://www.google.com/:
caption: "Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine", flag variation, c. 2019?
William Garrison, 3 December 2020

image located by William Garrison, 15 October 2022

Source: "MEMRI" online article of Oct. 14, 2022.
A white-field version of the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement" c. Oct. 2022:
William Garrison, 15 October 2022

image located by William Garrison, 16 October 2023

A black-field flag variation of the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement" flag. The top line reads as the basic Muslim shahada (Testament of Faith): "There is no God but Allah, Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah." The second line at the inside top of the circle reads: "And those who do jihad for us, we shall guide them to our paths. And God is with those who do good." (Quran 29:69). The third short line reads: "Allah Akbar" or "Allah is the greatest (god)." The inside line at the circle's bottom reads: "Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine". The bottom line reads: "Islamic Jihad". There is a hidden flag-pole sleeve on the flag's right side (hoist). c. 2005.
William Garrison, 16 October 2023

image located by William Garrison, 5 December 2023

A variant of a "Palestine Islamic Jihad Movement" flag with at the bottom the yellow slogan of (reading right-to-left): "al-jihad al-islami" or "Islamic Jihad"; as seen in Gaza, c. Oct. 4, 2023.
Source: https://twitter.com/bloomingrana
William Garrison, 5 December 2023

At https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-islamic-jihad-flag-flies is a black-field flag with the white Arabic word "al-Jihad" atop the word "al-Islam" or combined as "Jihad Islam" or "Islamic Jihad", as seen in Tulkarem, (West Bank) Palestine; c. 24 April 2002.
William Garrison, 5 December 2023

image located by William Garrison, 23 February 2024

A black-field flag showing the logo of the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement" with at the top a half-circular Arabic slogan that reads: "And those who do jihad for us, we shall guide them to our paths. And Allah is with those who do good" (Quran 29:69). The slogan "Allah Akbar" or "Allah is the greatest (god)" appears above the logo. The bottom half-circular slogan reads: "The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine". What appear to be "wings" flaring out both sides of the logo is an Arabic slogan that reads (right-to-left): "al-jihad al-islamiu" or "Islamic Jihad"; c. 2005. There is a hidden flag-pole sleeve at the right (hoist) side.
William Garrison, 23 February 2024

image located by William Garrison, 3 August 2024

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com
A vertical (or possibly square) black-field flag of the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement" that emphasizes the word "jihad" in its name. At the top of the flag is the basic Muslim "Declaration of Faith" ("shahada"). This group's logo is in the middle. Immediately beneath the logo to the right is the Arabic word: "harakat" (= "movement"), the middle enlarged/emphasized word is "al-Jihad" (= "Jihad"), and at the bottom left is the word "al-Islami" (= "The Islamic"); so all three words spell out this group's name: "Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami" or "The Islamic Jihad Movement". Seen in the Tulkarem area, Palestine (West Bank), August 3, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces photo).
William Garrison, 3 August 2024

image located by William Garrison, 14 March 2026

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/protesters-chant-for-hamas-and-hezbollah-at-al-quds-day-rally-in-new-york-city

A black-field, rectangular, horizontal flag with just the basic "Islamic Jihad Movement" logo/emblem in the center, seen at an "Al Quds Day" rally in Times Square, New York City, (New York state, USA), March 13, 2026. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel).
William Garrison, 14 March 2026

## Al-Quds Brigade

image located by William Garrison, 24 September 2023

I saw a television report about the training camps of the Islamic Jihad for junior members. In the report the members show black flags with some golden Arabic writing (I am not sure if it was the Shahada). The Palestinian Islamic Jihad was originated in the Gaza Strip during the 1970s.
Source: https://jihadintel.meforum.org/identifier/146/al-quds-brigades
The "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement" has an armed wing called the "Al-Quds Brigade" with its own flag.
William Garrison, 17 September 2021

From https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230119-palestine-quds-brigades-confront-israeli-military-incursion-in-nablus/
A flag of the "Al-Quds Brigade", the military wing of the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement", displayed in Rafah, Gaza; c. Aug. 2022.
William Garrison, 24 September 2023

## Emblem

image from Wikipedia, 14 Sep 2005

The emblem of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad shows a map of the land they claim as Palestine (roughly, present-day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) superimposed on the images of the Dome of the Rock, two fists and two rifles. Dark green Arabic text immediately above the Dome of the Rock, reading "Allahu Akbar," and light green Arabic text below: "Harakat-ul-Jihad-il-Islami fi Filastin" (name of group). Red text above: Qur'an, verse 29:69, which contains the verb form "jaahaduu" (related to jihaad).
Source: Wikipedia
Esteban Rivera, 14 Sep 2005

image located by William Garrison, 9 January 2024

A white-field flag variety of the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement" with its emblem/logo; c. 2005. There is a hidden flag-pole sleeve at the rleft side (hoist).
William Garrison, 9 January 2024