Arab and Israeli Terrorism

Historically, terrorism has generally failed as a means to reach a political objective. Most often, terrorist incidents have brought fear to the civilian sector, but only served to harden the attitudes of governments. Despite this, indiscriminate, anticivilian violence steadily increased in the last half century, particularly in the Middle East.
This work provides an historical overview of terrorism in the region, focusing on specific guerrilla actions. The hijackings of the 1960s, the Black September attack during the 1972 Munich Olympics, and the rise of Abu Nidal are all covered thoroughly, as are many other groups and incidents in the Middle East. The ineffectiveness of counter-terrorism, showing how it often precipitates the rise of small terrorist cliques, is also covered. Particular attention is given to Israel’s response to terrorism and the effect of terrorism on the country’s development and national psyche.

Born in Lebanon and raised in San Francisco, Kameel B. Nasr is a writer and an activist for peace and reconciliation. He divides his time between Italy and the United States.

Kameel B. Nasr
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 269
Bibliographic Info: 29 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007 [1996]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3105-2
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Introduction      3

1. The Arab General Strike      9
2. The Struggle for Statehood      17
3. Israel’s Use of Arab Disguises      26
4. Birth of the Palestinian Guerrillas      36
5. We Have Taken Over Your Flight      48
6. Black September vs. Mossad      58
7. The Rise of Abu Nidal      77
8. The Rejectionists      84
9. Abu Nidal in Iraq      90
10. Intelligence Capability      101
11. Death to the Arabs      107
12. Death to the Jews      118
13. Lebanon War      125
14. Deadtime      136
15. The Heyday      145
16. The Questionable 1980s      159
17. The Business of the FRC      174
18. Holy Wars and Hollywood: The Manufacture of Modern Terrorism      185
19. Greece      193
20. The Departure of Abu Bakr and the Death of Abu Iyad      201
21. Conclusions      207

Notes      215
Bibliography      247
Index      257

“an excellent resource…provides an emotional historical analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict”—Crime and Justice International; “its usefulness comes…in his often detailed accounts of famous Palestinian militants”—Journal of Palestine Studies.