Islamic Jihad Leader Says Iran's Khamenei Ordered West Bank Turmoil

The Islamic Jihad's Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhala, has said that anti-Israeli actions in the West Bank reflect Iranian Supreme Leader’s directives.

He claimed in an interview with Al-Wefaq that to arm the West Bank resistance groups, weapons were either smuggled or purchased directly from the Israelis.

“There was a great focus in order for the West Bank to move from a state of coexistence and calm, to a state of resistance that we see today, and of course all of this is under the directives of Ali Khamenei,” stated al-Nakhala.

“During our last meeting with him in Tehran, he renewed the call for that and for the development of resistance in the West Bank.”

Al-Nakhala praised Iranian regime's support for the resistance, claiming: "There are those who think that Iran provides hundreds of millions of dollars a month, but I say with the least capabilities, a state of resistance has been created in Palestine, and therefore we must not exaggerate the aid."

According to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in April, Iran is the “driving force” of a recent multi-front escalation with Israelis through its proxies across the region, funding Hamas – that rules the Gaza Strip -- with $100 million annually with additional funding worth tens of millions of dollars going to the second largest terror group in the Palestinian enclave, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Galant said the regime also provides Hezbollah in Lebanon with $700 million a year, as well as “knowledge and strategic weaponry” such as precision-guided munitions.