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Template:Totallydisputed The term Palestinian terrorism is commonly used for militant acts of violence committed by Palestinian citizens or organizations against Israelis, Jews, and at times against nationals of other countries. Validly or not, Palestinian terrorism can be regarded as similar to other kinds of violence associated with Arab-Islamic causes; these being given various names such as jihadism, Islamic terrorism, Arab nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, Islamism, Radical Islamic fundamentalism, etc. Others believe that these acts of violence are a struggle for freedom.
Organizations alleged to support and propagate militant violence include the Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, all of which are officialy listed as terrorist organizations by the United States and the European Union, though the exact political line of each organization varies from country to country. In addition, before 1993, the PLO was listed as a terrorist group by the United States. Ahmed Jibril faction is a Palestinian millitant group based in Lebanon.
Like much violence, the perpetrators claim that the attacks were justified, while the victims often claim innocence. Regardless of the moral, political, or tactical justifications, it is agreed by some that these attacks fall under the category of violence known as "terrorism", as the attacks are indiscriminate or directed at civilian non-combatants. Others point out that the destruction and demoralization of the enemy's populace is often considered a legitimate wartime strategy (i.e. allied bombing of Japanese and German cities in World War II). Attacks directed against Israeli military personnel do not fit the definition of "terrorism".
Past Palestinian terrorism (1920 - 1987)
The attacks on Jews by Arabs predating the establishment of the state of Israel culminated in the Jerusalem pogrom of April, 1920, the riots in Palestine of May, 1921, the 1929 Hebron massacre and the Great Uprising of 1936-1939. Prominent leaders of the militant Palestinian groups were Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (Shot and killed by English soldiers) and the pro-Nazi Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin Al-Husseini (deported).
Up until 1956 Israel had suffered hundreds of attacks from the West Bank. In 1964, the PLO was founded in order to "liberate all of Palestine". Article 24 of the organization's original charter, the Palestinian National Covenant states in part: "This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip..."
After Black September in 1970, the PLO or its offshoots waged an international campaign against Israelis. Notable events were the Munich Massacre (1972) and the hijacking of several civilian airliners. During the 1970s and the early 1980s Israel recieved numerous attacks from PLO bases in Lebanon (such as the Maalot massacre in 1974). Following the 1982 Israeli Invasion of Lebanon, termed "Operation Peace for Galilee" by the IDF, and the exile of the PLO to Tunis, Israel had a relatively quiet decade.
Current Palestinian terrorism
More than 1000 Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinian millitants since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. Targets of militant attacks include restaurants, discotheques, shopping malls, flea-markets, buses, universities and civilian homes (especially those in settlements within Palestinian territories).
Several polls have shown support within the Palestinian public for acts of violence against Israelis, as part of resistance. Some Israelis and their supporters allege the Palestinian Authority (PA) does not do enough in order to prevent attacks or reduce Palestinian public support for acts of violence against Israeli civilians. Some accuse the Palestinian Authority of indeed sponsoring militant groups (such as the Fatah section Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades) and using the official PA television, radio, press and education system in order to facilitate attacks upon Israel. Palestinians assert that it is not realistic to expect the kind of control Israel demands from the PA to curtail millitant groups, as the PA does may not have the resources to carry out such action, and they claim that the infrastructure of their many security apparati were severely damaged in various confrontations during the Al Aqsa Intifada.
Palestinian terrorists have also exploited children in the aid of terror, mainly as human shields and bomb-transporters but also as suicide bombers. On March 24, after allegedly capturing a bomb in the bag of 11-year-old Abedullah Quran, probably put there without his knowledge, Hussam Abdo, a Palestinian child aged 16, was captured in a checkpoint near Nablus wearing an explosive belt. The child was paid by the Fatah's Tanzim branch to explode himself at the checkpoint. The IDF soldiers manning the checkpoint suspected the child and told him to stay away from people. Later, having been invited by the Israeli military, the world's media watched as an EOD team arrived and disarmed the explosive belt with a police-sapper robot. A video documenting the disarming of an explosive belt from the 16-years-old Palestinian suicide bomber can be found here.
Most reports of Palestinian attacks concentrate on shooting and bombing attacks. These are a small proportion of all attacks. The most common are the use of fire bombs and large stones against passenger cars traveling on Israel's roads. These attacks have resulted in the death of a number of Israelis, though more frequently they result in property damage.
See Also
- Acts
- Groups
- Methods