Israeli Television: Establishment of a New Palestinian Organization Linked to Iran

Israeli Channel Two reported on Friday evening, November 22, a documentary regarding Iran's efforts to establish a new Palestinian organization named Al-Sabirin in the Palestinian territories. Al-Sabirin is composed of Sunni Palestinian fighters, while the Iranian government is Shia. The report emphasizes that the Islamic Republic of Iran has trained the leadership of Al-Sabirin in Iran 'to maintain their loyalty to Iran.' The leader of Al-Sabirin, Hisham Salem, and loyalists of this group have installed images of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah Lebanon, in their homes and activity centers. The report features statements from leaders and activists of Al-Sabirin in interviews and public comments that utilize the political and religious rhetoric of Iran's leadership and Hezbollah Lebanon, stating that Palestinians need a 'Hussein of the time' for success in their decades-long struggle... The current scene of the Palestinians' struggle against the Zionists is 'the same scene as Karbala.' The flag and logo of Al-Sabirin bear a striking resemblance to the flag and logo of Hezbollah Lebanon and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; the only difference is the orange color of Al-Sabirin's flag compared to Hezbollah's yellow flag. The Al-Sabirin group has displayed its flag in some of its recent activities in Gaza. The report mentions organizations named 'Ansar al-Sajjin Society,' 'Baqayah al-Salihah Society,' and 'Dar al-Huda' as among the institutions established with the support of the Iranian government to assist the armed organization Al-Sabirin in Gaza over the past year. Posters with the phrase 'Mabrouk li-Mahwar Tehran-Quds' (Blessed is the Tehran-Quds axis) have been placed by Al-Sabirin in the streets of Gaza. The documentary showed several Sunni Palestinian sheikhs aligned with ISIS, radical Islamists, and regional Salafists, who harshly criticize Hamas leadership in their speeches in Gaza for not taking serious action against the 'Rafidis.' 'Rafidis' in the political lexicon of these groups refers to Shia Muslims. However, experts like Professor Ozi Rabi, head of a research center at Tel Aviv University, stated in the Israeli Channel Two documentary that Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, tolerates the existence of Al-Sabirin and does not want to distance itself from Iran while its relations with Iran have soured in recent years. These experts add that Hamas, despite all its disagreements with Iranian leaders over regional issues, has always sought to keep Iran's support for future contingencies. According to the report, Iran began considering the establishment of a new organization of loyal Palestinians after Hamas distanced itself from Iran's stance regarding Syria and refused to implement Iran's directives for practical assistance to the survival of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, similar to Hezbollah. In the Yemen war, Hamas also supported 'the legitimate government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi,' like Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has shown great loyalty to Iran over the years, also stood against Iran's position in the Yemen war and did not support the Iranian-backed Houthi fighters. The Israeli television documentary mentioned the extensive activities of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee in Gaza as a basis for strengthening Iran's foothold in the enclave. The Fars News Agency reported in recent days that the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee provided continuous assistance to 5,400 Palestinian families from 2000 to 2014 and also gave single individuals a monthly allowance of $100 and $300 to each family among those mentioned. The Imam Khomeini Relief Committee increases its financial assistance to Gazans during occasions like Ramadan, Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and also in times of crisis, distributing this aid publicly among some Palestinian families. During last summer's war, the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee attempted to alleviate the suffering of tens of thousands of Palestinians who had left their homes due to fears of heavy Israeli airstrikes by distributing mattresses and other assistance. However, some opponents of Iranian influence in Gaza have publicly burned the food and financial aid received from Iran. Several young Palestinian engineers who joined Al-Sabirin and played a role in building rockets in local workshops, one of whom had turned his home into a rocket storage, were killed by the Israeli army during last summer's war; Al-Sabirin confirmed their affiliation with these casualties. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that Iran's assistance to Palestinians in their struggle against Israel 'is not a secret'; 'Iran has helped every Palestinian and anyone in the world who stands against the Zionists and will continue to do so.' Last year, during the war between the Israeli army and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, Ali Khamenei also stated that the most effective way to assist Palestinians is to arm the West Bank just like Gaza.