Eurasia Press & News
The Islamic Group in Lebanon has expressed surprise at Israel dragging its name into what it called the Israeli “attack” on the Syrian town of Beit Jinn (a town in the southwestern countryside of Damascus, near the occupied Syrian Golan Heights), denying Israeli accusations that it carries out any activities in the town.
The Islamic Group, according to a statement published on its website on Friday, 28 November, rejected having its name used in any acts it has nothing to do with, denying that it has any activity outside Lebanon.
It also condemned the “Israeli aggression” on the town of Beit Jinn and its peaceful residents, extending condolences to the families of the victims from among the town’s people.
The Group stressed its commitment to what the Lebanese state has committed to in the ceasefire agreement with Israel, noting that it operates under the “authority of law and institutions”.
What is the Islamic Group?
The Islamic Group is a Sunni Islamist movement considered one of the political forces in Lebanon. It was founded in 1956 by Faysal Mawlawi and Fathi Yakan, who was influenced by the thought of the Muslim Brotherhood and its leading figures in Syria and Egypt.
The Group declares that its goal is “to protect values and the individual in the Islamic society”.
It played a notable role in the events that shook Lebanon after the “al-Aqsa Flood” operation, launched by Hamas on 7 October 2023 against the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip. The “al-Fajr Forces”, the Group’s armed wing, became prominent after several operations targeting Israeli army positions adjacent to the Lebanese border.
Israeli accusations against the Group
Thirteen civilians were killed and 24 others were injured, in a preliminary toll, as a result of the Israeli army shelling the town of Beit Jinn with heavy artillery.
The shelling came after an Israeli army incursion into the town to arrest a number of young men, which led to clashes between local youths and the Israeli army, which announced that six of its soldiers had been wounded.
Israel’s public broadcaster (KAN) said the operation began at around 3 a.m., when the 55th Reserve Brigade carried out an arrest raid in the town of Beit Jinn against wanted men described as activists in the Islamic Group.
The Israeli army spokesperson announced that forces from the 55th Brigade, under the command of the 210th Division, had arrested three people linked to the Islamic Group in southern Syria. During the operation, a hand-to-hand fight broke out with those he described as “terrorists”, during which three soldiers were seriously wounded and three others sustained various injuries.
KAN said that the Islamic Group, whose members were targeted in the operation, is a Sunni Lebanese movement founded as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon. It said the Group controls military positions in southern Lebanon, has “terrorist infrastructure” along the Syrian–Lebanese border, and cooperates with Hamas in Lebanon and Syria.
According to KAN, the Islamic Group also possesses weapons in Beit Jinn and works on “recruiting terrorists and identifying their locations”, and it plays a pivotal role in the northern front as an independent force in the war on the Lebanese front.
