Occasional Paper #18:OP:1 
by Neve Gordon and George A. Lopez

Using terrorist attacks perpetrated in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict as a point of reference, this chapter analyses the significance and purposeful ambiguities of the definition of political terrorism. After depicting a number of incidents of Palestinian terrorism, Gordon and Lopez examine the definition of terrorism used by the United States Department of State. They inquire whether the definition captures the particular nature of these terrorist acts and whether it improves our understanding of the unique strategy employed by terrorists; they also discuss the significance of including the perpetrator's identity in the definition. Next, they offer an alternative definition of terrorism which accentuates only the nature of the act and introduce another set of cases, this time focusing on violent acts perpetrated by the state of Israel in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This new definition and these cases enable them to problematize two components that are often associated with terrorism: the actor's identity and the methods applied. By way of conclusion, they advocate the establishment of institutions that can help deter terrorism and resist its negative impact on peace processes. They argue that the manner by which one defines terrorism is linked to the creation of such institutions and to the potential of their contribution to peace.

Neve Gordon is assistant professor of politics and government at Ben Gurion University in Baar Sheeva, Israel.

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