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Palestinian suicide bombers have better than average educations

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, November 13, 2003

TEL AVIV Ñ The Palestinian suicide bomber has been profiled as a young, male member of Hamas, resident of the West Bank and better educated than his peers.

An Israeli study of 250 Palestinian suicide attackers since 1993 has attempted to draw a profile of the average candidate, Middle East Newsline reported. The study, by researchers Shaul Kimhi and Shmuel Even, said more than half of the bombers, or 135 people, were members of Hamas and 189 were from the Gaza Strip.

The report, entitled "Who Are Palestinian Suicide Terrorists?" said 33 percent of the suicide terrorists were university students or graduates and 40 percent completed high school. This represented a considerably higher level than the average education of the Palestinian population.

"The suicide terrorist demonstrates to his enemy that he has no intention of compromising on his goals and that nothing can deter him," the study said. "Consequently, the relatively high level of education among terrorists is not surprising, as the educated population generally exhibits a large degree of social consciousness and a willingness to act towards fulfillment of the goals motivating all the prototypes."

The report for Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies said 70 Palestinian suicide bombers were members of Islamic Jihad, 39 were from the ruling Fatah movement and six were from other groups.

About 80 percent, or 198 Palestinian bombers, were from the West Bank. Fifty four were from the Gaza Strip and seven were from Jerusalem or other parts of Israel.

The study said every suicide attack has three components. They comprise a person motivated to carry out the attack, a technical infrastructure to plan and execute, and a decision to launch a strike.

"So far, efforts to compile a profile of the suicide terrorist have failed, and it appears that the pool of suicide terrorists has many different characteristics," the report said.

The study categorizes four prototypes of Palestinian suicide attackers.

They are the religious fanatic -- usually young, unmarried and a member of Hamas or Islamic Jihad who is driven by the prospect of heavenly reward. Other prototypes are what the study terms the nationalist fanatic, the avenger and the exploited. The exploited includes youngsters or those accused of collaborating with Israel, a charge that often means execution.

The report stresses the role of incitement in mosques and schools as a major force in recruiting suicide bombers. Other factors cited are the Palestinian Authority's disregard for human rights and Palestinian civilian casualties in Israeli strikes.

The study cites the case of Mussa Ziyada, a 15-year-old recruited along with five others by Hamas activists to carry out suicide attacks. His father Hisham recalled that Hamas instructors were encouraging youngsters to carry out suicide strikes during discussions in a mosque in the Gaza Strip's Bureij refugee camp.

"The personal circumstances of a candidate that make it nearly impossible to refuse the proposal Ñ for instance, a person accused of collaborating with Israel, or a woman accused of desecrating family honor," the report said. "Or someone who has difficulty standing up to pressure. This includes people who do not initially intend on becoming martyrs and who are not designated ahead of time by the terrorist organization as marked for an operation."

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Legislative Council approved the new government of Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat called for a dialogue with Israel in an effort to end the cycle of violence "It's time for dialogue instead of military means, violence assassinations and destructions," Arafat said. "It's time for us and you Israelis to go out from this cycle destructive which will not give us or you peace or security."

Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon will meet with Qurei next week after Sharon returns from a visit to Italy.

In Jerusalem, Israeli security services said they arrested four Israeli Arabs on suspicion that they were recruited by Hamas while on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

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