Political Violence
Point of View: Jewish Israeli
Jewish political violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict predates the establishment of the state of Israel. Future Israeli leaders, including Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, helped plan terrorist attacks against British and Palestinian Arab targets. In more recent times, right wing Jewish extremists have attacked Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and fellow Israelis in both Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Point of View: Palestinian
Palestinian political violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict predates the establishment of the state of Israel, and has continued ever since. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) led a terrorist campaign against Israel and Israeli targets until PLO chairman Yasser Arafat renounced terrorism in 1988. In more recent times, Palestinian terrorist acts have been carried out primarily by the Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
APN Resources
“‘Price Tag’ Escalation Timeline”
Americans for Peace Now / (February 15, 2016)
Timeline of major "price tag" attacks from January 1, 2011 to February 10, 2016, showing a sharp rise in both the number of attacks and the spread of attacks within the Green Line. Read More >
APN Interview on ‘Price Tag’ with Molad’s Liat Schlesinger
Americans for Peace Now / (August 19, 2015)
Interview with Liat Schlesinger of Molad, a progressive think tank in Israel, on a report showing how Israeli tax payers fund the organizations that originally came up with the Price Tag strategy. Read More >
Articles
How Israel Catches Lone Wolves
Ehud Yaari / The American Interest (January 10, 2017)
Discusses how Isareli military and intelligence agencies curbed the wave of Palestinian lone wolf attacks that peaked in October 2015. Read More >
Does Aid to Palestinians Subsidize the Families of Terrorists
Naomi Zeveloff / The Forward (August 23, 2016)
This article unpacks the issue of the Palestinian Authority's financial support for families of terrorists and U.S. and Israeli efforts to combat these payments, or at least minimize their complicity in them. Zeveloff discusses where these funds come from and where they go, including families of Palestinian prisoners and civilians killed by Israeli fire. Read More >
'We Are Not Fanatic Killers'
David Kenner / Foreign Policy (May 2013)
Exclusive conversation with Khaled Meshaal in which the Hamas chief talks about how Assad should have listened to his advice, and why he's not "bloodthirsty" or "against" Jews. Read More >
The Forgotten War
Jeffrey Goldberg / The New Yorker (September 2006)
Feature on Hamas written in the wake of the 2006 war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. It discusses the challenges facing the group, the evolution of its approach toward Israel, and compares Hamas to other Islamist groups that practice terrorism. Read More >
Audio and Video
An Hour with Hamas leader with Khaled Meshaal
Charlie Rose (2010)
The Hamas chairman, who has been the group's political leader since 2004, discusses his beliefs and opinions, the nature and actions of Hamas, and claims that Hamas would accept a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders if approved by popular referendum. (53:27) Watch >
PLO: History of a Revolution
Al Jazeera English (2009)
Six-part series that tells the story of the PLO, beginning with its creation in 1964 and ending with the death of Yasser Arafat in 2002, the subsequent Hamas victory in the 2006 parliamentary elections, and the ensuing Hamas-Fatah power struggle. Episode 1 (24:07) > | Episode 2 (24:22) > | Episode 3 (24:22) > | Episode 4 (24:22) > | Episode 5 (24:09) > | Episode 6 (24:24) >
Hamas: Behind the Mask
Shelley Saywell / Bishari Films / CBC (2005)
Filmed before Hamas' electoral victory and subsequent takeover of Gaza in 2006. Includes background on the group, its Islamist ideology and methods, as well as interviews with Hamas leaders, experts, and ordinary Palestinians and Israelis. (50:50) Watch >
Documentary Interviews Failed Suicide Bombers
Fresh Air (June 2004)
Filmmakers Israel Goldvicht and Tom Roberts went inside Israeli prisons to examine the minds of suicide bombers. Their documentary, Suicide Bombers, is part of the PBS series "Wide Angle." They spoke with three failed bombers, one bomb builder and one recruiter. (21:07) Listen >
Books
Palestinian and Israeli Public Opinion: The Public Imperative in the Second Intifada
Jacob Shamir and Khalil Shikaki | Indiana University Press (2010)
Book Review (Israel Studies Review; requires EBSCOhost login) | CampusBooks
Israeli Counter-Insurgency and the Intifadas: Dilemmas of a Conventional Army
Sergio Catignani | Routledge (2008)
Book Review (Middle East Journal; requires JSTOR login) | CampusBooks
The Lost Years: Radical Islam, Intifada, and Wars in the Middle East, 2001-2006
Charles Enderlin | Other Press (2007)
Book Review (Publishers Weekly) | CampusBooks
Israeli Politics and the First Palestinian Intifada: Political Opportunities, Framing Processes and Contentious Politics
Eitan Y. Alimi | Routledge (2007)
Book Review (AbeBooks) | CampusBooks
Jewish Israeli Political Violence
“‘Price Tag’ Escalation Timeline”
Americans for Peace Now / (February 15, 2016)
Timeline of major "price tag" attacks from January 1, 2011 to February 10, 2016, showing a sharp rise in both the number of attacks and the spread of attacks within the Green Line. Read More >
APN Interview on ‘Price Tag’ with Molad’s Liat Schlesinger
Americans for Peace Now / (August 19, 2015)
Interview with Liat Schlesinger of Molad, a progressive think tank in Israel, on a report showing how Israeli tax payers fund the organizations that originally came up with the Price Tag strategy. Read More >
Official Documents
Operation Pillar of Defense: Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
November 21, 2012
Text of the agreement between Israel and Hamas negotiated by Egypt that brought an end to the 2012 Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Outlines the parameters of the ceasefire as well as its implementation mechanism. Read Document >
Hamas Covenant 1988
August 18, 1988
Outlines the position of the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas on a number key issues. Identifies Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and and calls for the eventual creation of an Islamic state in Palestine, in place of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and the obliteration or dissolution of Israel. Read Document >
Palestinian
How Israel Catches Lone Wolves
Ehud Yaari / The American Interest (January 10, 2017)
Discusses how Isareli military and intelligence agencies curbed the wave of Palestinian lone wolf attacks that peaked in October 2015. Read More >
Does Aid to Palestinians Subsidize the Families of Terrorists
Naomi Zeveloff / The Forward (August 23, 2016)
This article unpacks the issue of the Palestinian Authority's financial support for families of terrorists and U.S. and Israeli efforts to combat these payments, or at least minimize their complicity in them. Zeveloff discusses where these funds come from and where they go, including families of Palestinian prisoners and civilians killed by Israeli fire. Read More >
Most Palestinians in West Bank Oppose Stabbing Attacks on Israelis, New Poll Shows
Jack Khoury / Haaretz (March 13, 2016)
Summary of Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) poll shows that while support for Abbas wanes, 60% still support a two-state solution, 54% of West Bank Palestinians oppose the stabbing attacks on Israelis, and more than half of Palestinians felt ISIS's actions hurt their cause. Read More >
Rocket Threat to Israel: Palestinian Rocket & Mortar Attacks
Jewish Virtual Library (2009 - 2014)
List of Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel. Includes dates, locations, descriptions, and information about the perpetrators (if known) of each attack. Also provides information on the types of rockets used and their capabilities. Read More >
Public Opinion
Most Palestinians in West Bank Oppose Stabbing Attacks on Israelis, New Poll Shows
Jack Khoury / Haaretz (March 13, 2016)
Summary of Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) poll shows that while support for Abbas wanes, 60% still support a two-state solution, 54% of West Bank Palestinians oppose the stabbing attacks on Israelis, and more than half of Palestinians felt ISIS's actions hurt their cause. Read More >
Reports and Data Sources
Rocket Threat to Israel: Palestinian Rocket & Mortar Attacks
Jewish Virtual Library (2009 - 2014)
List of Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel. Includes dates, locations, descriptions, and information about the perpetrators (if known) of each attack. Also provides information on the types of rockets used and their capabilities. Read More >
Terrorism Against Israel: Comprehensive Listing of Fatalities
Jewish Virtual Library (1993 - 2013)
List of Israeli fatalities from Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Includes dates, locations, and names of victims, as well as descriptions of the circumstances and perpetrators of each attack. Read More > | See also: Attacks Against Israeli Representatives Abroad (1969 - Present) >
Backgrounder: Hamas
Council on Foreign Relations (November 2012)
Features basic information about Hamas, including its origins, beliefs, leaders, operations, terrorist attacks, goals, and perception among Palestinians. Read More >
Hamas: Ideological Rigidity and Political Flexibility
Paul Scham and Osama Abu-Irshaid / United States Institute of Peace (June 2009)
Analysis of Hamas' behavior from the understanding that shari'a provides the basis for the political actions that Hamas can and cannot take. Concludes that Hamas has undergone changes to the point where the group is now ready to explore arrangements that will allow it and Israel to coexist without episodic violence. PDF >