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DSC4012 – TERRORISM
Chapter 9 - Terrorism in Israel and Palestine
Dr. E. Buchholz
Learning Objectives: Chapter 9
 Describe the rise of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
 Identify factional groups that emerged from squabbles among the
Palestinians.
 Discuss the origins and growth of Hezbollah after the 1982 Israeli invasion of
Lebanon.
 Explain the current political and military aspects of Hezbollah.
Learning Objectives: Chapter 9
 Outline the impact of the first Intifada and the birth of Hamas.
 Describe the current operational capabilities of Hamas.
 Summarize the tactics of the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
 Summarize controversial Israeli counterterrorist policies.
Palestine Liberation Organization
 Yasser Arafat (1929-2004)
Founding member of Fatah and the PLO
 PLO
Formed in 1964
Secular (non-religious) group whose goal is to establish a government for
displaced Palestinians
Palestinians live in Israel, Palestinian areas controlled by Israel, and other
countries
FATAH
 Formed by Arafat in 1959
 A guerrilla organization
 Waged a campaign against the Israelis
 Used small-unit tactics and terrorist actions
 Merged with PLO in 1964
 Fedayeen
Secular warriors of Fatah
Attacked Israel (“Fatah operations”) with just a few hundred fighters
Fatah and the Six-Day War
 With the Arabs in complete military disarray, Fatah’s reputation rose
 Rival groups tried to outdo Arafat, but it was Fatah’s attacks that drew
Israel’s attention, making Arafat a hero in Palestinian eyes and moving Fatah
into the leading role
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Battle at Karamah
 Israelis staged an attack on a village in Karamah, Jordan harboring fadayeen.
 Meant to be a hit-and-run attack.
 Sent in infantry and tanks, then withdrew even though they were about to
overrun the fedayeen.
 The legend of the battle as told of Fatah’s fedayeen was that of defeating the
Israeli Defense Forces.
 Millions were donated, corrupting the PLO leadership, making it the most
powerful Palestinian group.
The PLO Expelled
 As the PLO grew, it drew closer to militant Arab states, giving them a
potential base in Jordan
 King Hussein of Jordan ordered Arafat to stop its attacks
 Radical elements in Iraq and Syria encouraged Arafat to defy Hussein’s order
 Hussein attacked the PLO in 1970
Arafat fled to southern Lebanon
Black September and Munich
 Arafat blamed Israelis for Hussein’s actions
 Due to the splintering of the PLO, he created a new group--“Black September”
 Using German leftist allies, Black September began planning a strike against
the Israelis
 Black September struck the 1972 Olympic Village and took most of the Israeli
Olympic team hostage, killing those who tried to escape
1982 Invasion of Lebanon
 Massive 3-pronged Israeli Defense Force invaded Lebanon
 PLO was surrounded and bombarded by Israelis in Beirut
 Arafat fled Beirut for Tripoli with 14,000 fedayeen, 10,000 guerrillas stayed
and joined the Syrians.
Palestinian Terrorism
 From 1967 to 1982, the PLO was characterized by internal splintering
 Arafat found that he could not retain control of the military wing, and several
groups split from it
 New groups formed after the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, including Hezbollah
and Hamas
Major Groups
 Abu Nidal Organization
 Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
 Black September
 Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
 Fatah
 Force 17
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 Hamas
 Hezbollah
Major Groups
 Palestinian Islamic Jihad
 Palestine Liberation Front
 Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, General Command
 Tanzim Brigade
Hamas
 Islamic Resistance Movement
 Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood
 Accept violence as a norm
 Primary mission is to oppose the PLO
 Its military wing is the Izz el Din al Qassam Brigades
 2004, Israel assassinated their spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin
 As soon as he was replaced, the Israelis killed him too
Hezbollah
 The Iranian-backed Party of God
 Operates from southern Lebanon
 Forms alliances of convenience with other organizations participating in the
al Aqsa Intifada
An uprising sparked by Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount with a group of
armed escorts in September 2000.
Characterized by suicide bombings.
 Has been referred to as the deadliest terrorist group in the world.
The Origins of Hezbollah
 Hezbollah’s roots can be traced to a desire to export revolutionary ideals
from Iran and Shi’ite emancipation in Lebanon
 Hezbollah grew from a council of Shiite scholars who claimed to be part of a
spiritual movement
 Hezbollah developed under the leadership of three central figures: Sheik
Mohammed Hassan Fadlallah, Abbas Musawi, and Hassan Nasrallah
The Origins of Hezbollah
 Phase one of the Hezbollah development
The Hezbollah umbrella covered many terrorist groups, including a shadowy
organization known as Islamic Jihad
 In its second phase, Hezbollah’s leadership launched a kidnapping campaign
in Beirut
 The third phase of Hezbollah’s metamorphosis came in 1990
Created a regional militia
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Became primary paramilitary force in southern Lebanon
A Sympathetic View of Hezbollah
 Many voices in Lebanon Hezbollah is a legitimate self-defense force
 Many Hezbollah guerrillas simply refer to themselves as the “Islamic
resistance”
 Hezbollah is a source of inspiration
 After the 2006 war, support for Hezbollah grew to an all-time high
Critical View of Hezbollah
 Hezbollah is a deadly international terrorist organization that uses
international crime to finance operations
 Hezbollah has killed U.S. citizens and kidnapped and tortured Americans
 Hezbollah provided a model for the formation of an international umbrella of
terrorist organizations
An Overview of Hamas
 Hamas was formed in December 1987 at the beginning of the first Intifada
 Hamas’ political wing oversees internal and foreign relations
 The social wing runs charities, schools, hospitals, and other social service
organizations in Gaza
Struggles for Leadership
 Yassin was jailed from 1989 to 1997
 Musa Abu Marzuq took over Hamas
 After Yassin was released from prison, he gradually reasserted control over
Hamas
Seeking Election
 In March 2004, Yassin was leaving a mosque in Gaza when Israeli helicopters
appeared and fired three missiles at him
 The new leader was Khalid Meshal
 Palestinians voted Fatah out of power in January, and Hamas won the
election
Elections and Security
 Hamas won the majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament
 Mahmud Abbas refused to transfer Palestinian control from Fatah to Hamas
 Hamas and Fatah gunmen fought routine battles; Hamas took direct control
of Gaza
Hamas v. Fatah
 Hamas controlled the majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament, while
Mahmud Abbas retained the presidency
This set the stage for a confrontation
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 Saudi Arabia brokered a power-sharing arrangement between Hamas and
Fatah
 Hamas had driven Fatah from Gaza, and Abbas had dissolved the government
Invading Lebanon
 Israel launched its first invasion of Lebanon to rid the south of the PLO
Ended after an eighteen-year occupation and the creation of a new enemy,
Hezbollah
 In a war that lasted nearly a month, hundreds of Lebanese civilians were
killed, nearly a million Lebanese were displaced, and Lebanon’s
infrastructure was destroyed
Effective Tactics
 The Brigades’ primary tactics have been drive-by shootings, sniper shootings,
ambushes, and kidnap-murders
 Martyrs Brigades suicide bombers were frightening for two reasons:
They were secular
They sought out targets crowded with civilians
Leadership in the Martyrs Brigades
 Brigades seem to be directly associated with their parent group, Fatah
 One school of thought maintains that Arafat led and paid for the Brigade
Leadership in the Martyrs Brigades
 A BBC News investigation points to Marwan Barghouti as the commander
 Ja’Aire claimed that he and other Brigades commanders were under Arafat’s
control
Controversial Tactics
 Destroying the homes of suicide-bomber families
 Selective assassination of Palestinian leaders
 Killing innocents when striking militants
 Excessive use of force – was it?
Bulldozing
 Purpose was to destroy the family homes of suicide bombers
 If militant charities and governments were going to compensate families of
martyrs, the Israelis reasoned, bulldozing homes would be more painful than
the pleasure of economic reward
Controversial Tactics
 Commando raids in neighboring countries
 June 2006 invasion of Lebanon
 December 2008 invasion of Gaza
 Blockade of Gaza
 May 2010 violent interception of ships during Gaza blockade
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Chapter Take Aways
 The modern conflict between Israel and Palestine is based in terrorism.
 Fatah imitated the Irgun by using terrorist tactics, but the movement was not
united.
 Palestinian militancy is characterized by factionalism.
 Terrorism moved to the international arena in the 1980s, but it has remained
localized for the last three decades.
Chapter Take Aways
 The current major operational groups are Hezbollah, Hamas, and the al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades.
 Israeli policies are controversial.
 Critics claim the Israelis overreact.
 Defenders maintain strong tactics are necessary to counter terror.
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