The brief but intense sprint of violence between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) that took place across the Gaza-Israel border earlier this month is interesting because of what did not happen during that mini-war. On the surface, the confrontation was simply the latest eruption of violence between Israel and a Palestinian terror group committed to the Jewish state’s destruction. But what appeared as a bilateral escalation had an important regional context: the PIJ was established in 1981 by Iran’s intelligence apparatus. The latter’s support of the PIJ is part of Iran’s continuous efforts to expand its influence in the Middle East at large: in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen
