In January 2002, Wafa Idris, a young Palestinian woman from the al-Amri refugee camp adjacent to Ramallah, blew herself up on a crowded Jerusalem street. The Israel Defense Forces, Israeli public opinion, and many in the West were taken by surprise, if not outright astounded. Conversely, the Arab press, and to a greater degree the Islamic press, reacted with elated jubilation. “It’s a woman!” cheered al-Sha’ab, an Islamic Egyptian newspaper, in a headline that played on an “It’s a boy!” greeting card announcement for the felicitous...
Is it purely by chance that the phenomenon of Palestinian female suicide bombers occurred only during the height of the second Intifada and not at all during the first one? In order to answer this question, two main factors must be considered: developments within the Palestinian national-political arena and gender phenomena in Palestinian society.
Over the last few years, women suicide bombers have earned the dubious distinction of appearing more newsworthy than their male counterparts. While investigative reporting on a male suicide bomber is often extensive, coverage of a female suicide bomber seems to result in more widespread media exposure. This may serve as another expression of the prevailing belief that women, unlike men, must have unique and excessively abnormal reasons for committing what is deemed as a distinctly non-feminine act.
On January 27, 2002, a terrorist bomb exploded in the handbag of Wafa Idris, a woman in her late twenties, on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem. The bomb killed Idris herself and an Israeli citizen, and wounded approximately fifty people. Idris, cast by the media as the first female Palestinian terrorist, was not intended to kill herself with her victims, according to the original plan of those who sent her. For some unknown reason, however, the bomb went off unexpectedly. Nonetheless, as part of the suicide terrorist cult that was greatly...
The involvement of women in suicide bombings invites a host of operational, tactical, psychological, and sociological questions as to how much this phenomenon shares or departs from the general phenomenon of suicide terrorism. Is there a distinct category of female suicide terrorism? In addition, how much is this gender-related phenomenon in fact a function of gender-related issues? More specifically, to what extent is feminism on the agenda of the women themselves or those who send them? Are these bombers in fact dying for equality?...
Over the past two weeks, Israel has been enmeshed in conflict precipitated by kidnappings in the south and in the north. Those two tactical events have deteriorated into fighting with strategic consequences. The tactical successes of Hamas and Hizbullah have exposed Israel to extortion and it may well have to pay some price for its failures and for the return of the kidnapped soldiers. In this situation, Israel’s objective is to turn tactical setbacks into strategic outcomes whose gains outweigh the losses. Understanding the...
The terrorist attack in Netanya in the first week of December is but the latest in a string of suicide bombings carried out by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) after the declaration of tahdia (temporary lull in violence) by mainstream Palestinian organizations. And it demonstrates, once again, that neutralization of the PIJ, which sees in terrorism the only course to follow, is a shared objective of Israel and the Palestinians.
Al-Qaeda and the Internationalization of Suicide Terrorism examines the multi-dimensional relationship between al-Qaeda’s core and the organization’s affiliates. Looking at organizational principles and their operational implementation, the study analyzes al-Qaeda as a parent organization that has successfully imparted its organizational principles and culture, particularly the glorification of suicide terrorism, to other groups. It reviews selected terrorist attacks as representative case studies of al-Qaeda ideology and...
The recent upsurge in violent incidents has been accompanied by predictions by Israeli politicians and security officials that another round of violence is certain to erupt, either before or immediately after the Israeli disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank, and that it may well be even more severe than those that preceded it. According to this deterministic school of thought, a third intifada is inevitable and nothing can be done to prevent it. However, a closer examination of the common interests of the dominant...
The Middle East Strategic Balance 2004-2005 Table of Contents Introduction Part I: Middle East Strategic Assessment Chapter 1 The Middle East: Still on the Brink of a New Era / Mark A. Heller External Penetration and Pressure for Change Regional Ramifications Future Directions Chapter 2 The Ongoing Iraqi Crisis / Ephraim Kam The Role of the...
Al-Qaeda and the Internationalization of Suicide Terrorism examines the multi-dimensional relationship between al-Qaeda’s core and the organization’s affiliates. Looking at organizational principles and their operational implementation, the study analyzes al-Qaeda as a parent organization that has successfully imparted its organizational principles and culture, particularly the glorification of suicide terrorism, to other groups. It reviews selected terrorist attacks as representative case studies of al-Qaeda ideology and practice.
Critics of American foreign policy frequently argue that the terrorism inflicted by al-Qaeda and its affiliates on the US in particular and the west in general is mainly a result of flawed American policy towards Israel. In addition, politicians and officials in various countries have asserted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the root cause of the terrorism and that removing this cause would make it possible to end the confrontation between “global jihad” and the rest of the world.
