Ronet Marzen/ Haaretz (Adapted)
For years, the Islamic Jihad has had complicated relationships with the Palestinian, Arab, International and Israeli activity. Since the signing of the Oslo agreement, the Islamic Jihad refuses to be subject to the command of the official political leaders of the Palestinian people, especially after the separation from the Gaza Strip and the rise of Hamas to authority.

The first source of strength for Jihad is provided by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Secretary-General of Jihad, Ziad Al-Nakhala, realizes that he must keep Hamas as the "main pillar of the resistance" and prevent it from turning into a political player, to ensure freedom of action for his organization. He is trying to ensure that even if Hamas does not join the next military rounds because of its civilian responsibility for the Palestinians, it will not dare to harm Islamic Jihad and risk losing its national image. In order to extract this source of strength from the Jihad, Hamas must be transformed into a legitimate body in Gaza and recognized by Israel, the leaders of the region and the international community, and to enable it to join for Fatah camp of Mohammed Dahalan. They both work for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the fighting of the Islamic Jihad which tries to prevent that.

The second source of strength for the Islamic Jihad is Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Conflict, suppression, corruption, political stalemate and Fatah's fear of losing control in the West Bank allow Jihad to urge members of Fatah to join them in order to "restore glory." To extract this power, a political operation must be pushed forward, as it will stop the regression of the national picture of Fatah.

Jihad's third source of strength is the Palestinian people, particularly the refugees' camps. Moreover, Iran and Hezbollah are the fourth source of power for Jihad. To extract this power, France should be encouraged to pressure the Lebanese government in order to deport the Jihad leadership from its lands, and to urgently treat the refugees' camps in Lebanon. 

In general, the sources of strength of the Islamic Jihad should be cut off in order to prevent this organization from vandalizing the Palestinians' lives and paralyzing the Israelis' ones. The faster this happen, the better it is.