Also known as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A Palestinian Islamist militant group founded in 1979-80 by Palestinian students in Egypt who had split from the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood in the Gaza Strip. The founders were ideologically influenced and inspired by the Islamic revolution in Iran as well as the radicalization of Egyptian Islamic student organizations. Deemed a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, Israel and other countries, Islamic Jihad has perpetrated numerous armed and suicide attacks, primarily in Israel. The group is open to running in local Palestinian elections, but rejects participation in both legislative and presidential elections as it does not believe in the Palestinian Authority. See Fischbach, Michael R. “Islamic Jihad.” Philip Mattar, ed. Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. New York: Facts on File, 2005; and Fletcher, Holly. “Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” 10 April 2008. Council on Foreign Relations. 1 November 2011. http://www.cfr.org/israel/palestinian-islamic-jihad/p15984.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/islamic-jihad