The use of terrorism in the Israeli-Palestine conflict

1.Introduction

This essay will discuss the use of terrorism in the Israel-Palestine conflict. It will start by looking at what terrorism is focussing especially on suicide terrorism, as this is the main form of terrorism used in the conflict. It will then look at why suicide terrorism is used, and the motivations behind this use. The essay will then go through the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Both Israel and Palestine will then be discussed. The essay will end off by looking at the use of suicide terrorism by the Palestinians and Israelis.

2.What is terrorism?

Since the main form of terrorism used in the Israel-Palestine conflict is suicide terrorism, this is the form of terrorism which shall be discussed. To arrive at a definition of suicide terrorism, there are several aspects which be looked at, as there are many debates as to the true definition of suicide terrorism.

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Map of Israel, the Palestinian territories (West B...

Map showing the West Bank and Gaza Strip in relati...

One of the questions posed when trying to arrive at a definition is 'the difference between the readiness and the desire to die'. There have been claims that any terrorist actions which could pose fatal risks to the terrorist should be seen as suicide terrorism. It would be more successful to define suicide terrorism by viewing the terrorist's death as a requirement of a successful attack. When using such a definition, one cannot view even the most dangerous attack as suicide terrorism if there is a chance, however small, that the perpetrator may survive.

Another problem when defining suicide terrorism is the difficulty in differentiating between whether or not the terrorist died willingly or is unaware that his death is part of the plan. Because there have been several recorded cases of terrorists being fooled into believing they were only transporting explosives, then having them remotely detonated while in...