The Question of Israel and Palestine

Terrorism  refers  to  the  act  of  inducing fear  in  people  with  the  intention  of  forcing  them  into  doing  something.  Terrorists  end  up  compromising  the  safety  of  civilians  as  they   seek  to  achieve  religious,  political  and ideological  goals (White 2).

Leadership makes a difference in the effectiveness of terrorism organizations.  Jonathan  gives  arguments  which  support  this  proposition  in  his  book  on  terrorism  and  homeland  security.  He uses leaders of various groups to support his sentiments. For  instance,  in  1997,  Arafat  permitted  Hamas  and  Islamic  Jihad  attacks  through  coming  up  with   an  umbrella  group  in  collaboration  with  the  Islamists  organizations  named  “the  Nationalist  and  Islamic  Forces.  This group executed attacks against the Israelis and this amounts to terrorism (White 20).  He  would  also  finance  suicide  bombings ,  pay  the  operatives,  as  well  as  fund  explosive  materials  to  be  used  by  terrorists.  Arafat  also  commanded  the  AL-Aqsa  Martyrs  Brigades  which  would  terrorize  and  kill  Israelis. His Ramallah compound would also give orders for terrorist attacks (White 26). Supposing Palestine had a leader who would not  support  all  these  activities,  then  terrorism  organizations in  the  country  would  not  be  this  successful. 

Al Banna,  a  local  imam(prayer  leader)  as  well  as  a  teacher  of  the  Hanbali  rite on  the  other  hand  started  the  society  of  the  Muslim  brothers  which  is  an  association  which  would  send  volunteers  to  fight  in  Palestine (White 70). This  clearly  shows  that  leadership  plays  a  very  pivotal  role  in  the  effectiveness  of  terrorist  activities.   Yassin  founded  an  organization  with  the  aim  of  fighting  non-religious  groups. His group executed several terrorist activities targeting the Israelis.  The  fact  that  the  Al-Aqsa  Martyr’s  Brigades  are  still  executing  terrorist  attacks  long  after  Arafat’s  death  clearly  shows  that  they  can  operate  without  strong  leaders (White 72).