The making of a human bomb
Subtitle: an ethnography of Palestinian resistance
By: Nasser Abufarha.
Series: The cultures and practice of violence series; Cultures and practice of violence series
Publisher: Duke University Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Durham
Language: eng
Number of pages: 277
ISBN-13: 9780822344285; 9780822344391
Subjects: Suicide bombers -- Palestine; Suicide bombings -- Palestine; Arab-Israeli conflict -- 1993-; Political violence -- Palestine
Description: "In The Making of a Human Bomb, Nasser Abufarha, a Palestinian anthropologist, explains the cultural logic underlying Palestinian martyrdom operations (suicide attacks) launched against Israel during the Al-Aqsa Intifada (2000-06). In so doing, he sheds much-needed light on how Palestinians have experienced and perceived the broader conflict. During the Intifada, many of the martyrdom operations against Israeli targets were initiated in the West Bank town of Jenin and surrounding villages. Abufarha was born and raised in Jenin. His personal connections to the area enabled him to conduct ethnographic research there during the Intifada, while he was a student at a U.S. university. Abufarha draws on the life histories of martyrs, interviews he conducted with their families and members of the groups that sponsored their operations, and examinations of Palestinian literature, art, performance, news stories, and political commentaries. He also assesses data-about the bombers, targets, and fatalities caused-from more than two hundred martyrdom operations carried out by Palestinian groups between 2001 and 2004. Some involved the use of explosive belts or the detonation of cars; others entailed armed attacks against Israeli targets (military and civilian) undertaken with the intent of fighting until death. In addition, he scrutinized suicide attacks executed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad between 1994 and 2000"--Book cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Histories and historicities in Palestine; title: State expansion and the violence of "peace making" in Palestine; title: The carrier; title: Dying to live; title: The strategies and politics of martyrdom in Palestine.