Islamic Jihad: Yes to PLO, No to PA
Islamic Jihad has expressed its willingness to join a renewed PLO, but has insisted it will not participate in elections or Palestinian governments, writes Daoud Kuttab.
![Islamic Jihad militants take part in the funeral of their comrade Mahmoud Shaath in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip Islamic Jihad militants take part in the funeral of their comrade Mahmoud Shaath in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 28, 2012. Shaath died on Wednesday from a wound he suffered from an Israeli air strike during an eight-day conflict, Palestinian medics said. Eight days of Israeli air strikes on Gaza and cross-border Palestinian rocket attacks ended in an Egyptian-brokered truce agreement a week ago that called on Israel to ease restrictions on the territory. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZ](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/02/RTR3AZ3A.jpg/RTR3AZ3A.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=xkt9Y00r)
With the bulk of the Palestinian reconciliation effort being focused on Hamas and Fatah, little attention has been paid to other nationalist and Islamic factions that compose the Palestinian movement.
One of these factions is Islamic Jihad, a militant nationalist movement that has adopted Islam politically rather than religiously. Unlike Hamas — which believes in the need to preach Islam to its supporters — Islamic Jihad ignores Islam's social elements and grassroots activity to instead concentrate on its political and military dimensions. This focus means that Islamic Jihad revolves around a smaller, more trained membership because it has no need to attract large numbers of followers.
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