Table of Contents
Reformed Security Council
Those delegates participating in the reformed security council are in for a special treat. We will be abandoning the traditional Security Council structure in favor of a more forward thinking model devised especially for this conference. The new structure will take into account the importance of nations other than the five veto powers. Before we go any further, it is very important that everyone realize that this council is fiction. The real Security Council still operates in the same manner as described in the previous section, and it probably will for some time.
The overall size of this Security Council will be increased from 15 to 30 members. The number of veto powers will also be increased from the permanent five to a group of ten. Some of the ten seats will rotate over the years, such as the one "currently" occupied by India. This seat will rotate between India and Pakistan. The same will be true for the seat occupied by South Africa. The voting procedure will also change for this committee. Since there are thirty member nations, if a procedural vote (such as moving from informal to formal debate) ends in a tie, the motion will fail. In the real Security Council, 9 out of 15 members must vote yes to pass a resolution. Since this committee has twice as many members, 18 yes votes will be required to pass a resolution or amendment. Most importantly, the role of the veto powers will be changed. In the current system, if one of the veto powers votes against a resolution, the resolution fails. However, in this simulation, three reformed veto powers will have to vote against a resolution or amendment in order to veto it.
The new veto powers are Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, and South Africa. These countries were by no means chosen randomly. Brazil is the largest and one of the most influential nations of South America. Germany is an international economic powerhouse. India has the second largest worldwide population. This statistic alone is enough to offer them a spot in the Security Council in many people's eyes. Japan, like Germany, is an economic powerhouse (even though it is currently in a slump). They many of the high tech products that are found on the market today. South Africa represents the produce African view of the world. The rearrangement of the veto powers hopefully adds greater variety of opinion to the Security Council. In addition, to giving more people a say in the Security Council, this formulation theoretically gives a greater percentage of the population a say in the workings of the United Nations Security Council.
The ten extra non-veto seats that have been added to the Security Council are equally divided among the different regions of the world. Although a plan for Security Council reform should consider a different scheme for electing nations to a seat in the Security Council, this conference will consider that the election process is the same as it has always been. The only change is that each block will have a greater number of seats in the Council.
Again, it is important that everyone realizes that this committee is a simulation. None of these reforms have taken effect in the real Security Council. For this committee, however, everyone will act as if these reforms have indeed taken place. Most people would concur that this is not the best possible solution. Yet, this is a workable resolution. This committee is not the place to debate Security Council reform. Hopefully, however, each delegate will learn something about this very important subject by the end of this committee session.
Terrorism
In past years, international conflicts were settled on the battlefield. Nowadays, the battlefields are not well defined. Neither are the warriors. For those countries and organizations who do not have the power to wage a war, the next best thing is to use pure terror to destroy their enemies. For poor nations and small groups of people with big political ideas, terrorism is often the weapon of choice. Currently, there are 37 international terrorist organizations operating world wide (Institute for Counter Terrorism).
One of the greatest problems the United Nations faces in fighting terrorism is that there is no single definition of terrorism. The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation defines terrorism as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" (www.terrorism.com). This definition allows for quite a bit of interpretation. Is the use of embargoes and economic sanctions a form of terrorism? What about the promise of large aid packages? Or actions such as the US bombing of Iraq? There are other non-conventional types of terrorism, such as nuclear-, biological-, chemical- and cyber-terrorism that need to be dealt with. The United Nations faces many challenges in devising a definition that is fair and acceptable to a majority of nations.
Another problem facing any committee that attempts to deal with terrorism is the fact that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. All revolutionary leaders start out as terrorists by some people's definition. This would include George Washington fighting against the British, Fidel Castro fighting the Batista regime, and Nelson Mandela fighting apartheid. The question must be asked whether a person or group is considered terroristic only until it gains a majority of control or a majority of public support. There are instances where large groups of people in a country target a minority government. Does this mean that the people are all terrorists? Or are they right to take a democratic stand?
Many poorer nations consider terrorism to extend well past the realm of physical violence. Nations like Cuba, Libya, and Iraq would consider economic terrorism as a tremendous threat to their countries. However, nations like the United States would consider embargoes and sanctions as perfectly fair examples of non-violent pressure. One of the major roadblocks to defining terrorism is the political implications that would follow. If economic pressure was deemed terrorism, violence could take the place of "peaceful" economic action.
State terrorism is another issue that must be addressed. Nations that support terrorism usually do so in a covert manner. How does the United Nations deal with nations who are believed to support terrorism? How does the United Nations find out if allegations against a country are true? The Institute for Counter Terrorism accuses five nations, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, of sponsoring terrorism. The United States' State Department considers Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria as nations which sponsor terrorism (http://www.hri.org/docs/USSD-Terror/97/sponsored.html). Of course, this information must be taken with a grain of sand. All seven of these nations would consider the United States as a terrorist nation.
There are four main motives behind terrorist acts. First, political dissatisfaction is a common reason for anti-government groups to form and partake in terrorism. Second, religious beliefs and conflicts can lead to terrorist actions. Islamic fundamentalism often falls into this category. Third, ethnic differences can lead to individual hate crimes or large scale genocide. Finally, social issues are becoming common reasons for terrorism. Issues such as abortion are creating volatile situations.
This committee will focus their attention upon the Middle East. This area of the world is considered a powder keg that could blow at any second. Every week there are reports of Israelis attacking Palestinians and of Palestinians blowing up Israelis. A total of 279 Israeli men, women, and children have been killed in 92 lethal attacks by Palestinian terrorists since the signing of the Oslo Accords. Many terrorist groups have headquarters in the Middle East. Osama bin Laden, the exiled Saudi terrorist, is supposedly stationed in Afghanistan. Sudan's capital is believed to be the home to many terrorist organizations. The problems in the Middle East vary from monetary to ethnic clashes. There is no single solution to the situation in the land that is home to three of the world's major religions and most of the world's oil. It will probably take more than one resolution to solve just the problem of terrorism in the Middle East.
History of the Middle East Conflict (through 1993)
The Zionists begin immigration and Western Powers Partition the Middle East
In the 1880's, as a result of a deep rooted feeling of anti-Semitism in many Europeans, some European Jews felt that they would never be accepted in Europe and that they needed their own independent state. This movement, called Zionism, attracted limited support in its early years. However from 1882 to the beginning of World War I, the percentage of Jewish residents in Palestine increased from 6% to 10%, and in 1897 The World Zionist Organization was created to assist Jewish immigrants to Palestine and to buy land with the aim of creating a Jewish state in Palestine. The Palestinians protested this to the Ottoman Turks, who ruled Palestine, and the Ottomans attempted to restrict Jewish immigration and expansion.
The intervention by the Ottomans would have little affect on the situation though, as the region would be left forever changed by World War I. The Ottoman empire aligned itself with Germany and Austria-Hungary, and as a result Britain and France saw an opportunity to carve up the lands controlled by the Ottoman Empire (which included much of the Middle East). Britain and France gained the support of the native Arab people by promising independence, but what they didnt tell the Arabs was that they had also assured the Zionists that they supported a "national home for the Jewish people." When the war ended, Britain and Frances motives became clear, and no one was particularly happy. Britain and France ended up keeping much of the Middle East, and the Arabs resented this, and the Zionists felt betrayed because Britain didnt seem to have any intention of granting them independence. Under British rule, tensions between the Muslims and the Jews continued. Riots were common, and many people on both sides were killed. In some cases it was the British who were responsible for the killing. For example in 1936, the British declared martial law to quell a mostly non-violent Palestinian uprising, and killed over 1000 Palestinians, and jailed 5% of the adult male Palestinian population.
World War II atrocities lead to support for a Jewish state
As the world learned the gruesome details of the Holocaust, many people in the United States and Europe began to support the idea of an independent Jewish nation. Not only did the Holocaust nearly wipe out the Jewish population in Europe, but it also left over 100,000 Jews displaced across Europe. The Zionists proposed that those 100,000 settle in Palestine, and demanded that the Jewish state encompass all of Palestine to accommodate for them.
Britain turned the problem over the newly formed United Nations, and the UN General Assembly passed a resolution concerning the fate of Palestine. It proposed that Palestine be divided into two states, with Jerusalem as an international zone. The plan was immediately rejected by the Palestinians and the other Arab nations, as it gave 55% of Palestine to the Jews, who represented 30% of the population and owned only 7% of the land. Many Zionists also felt that there should be no compromise, however their government grudgingly accepted the terms.
The Beginnings of Half a Century of Conflict
The British troops left Palestine on May 15, 1948, and on that day, the Zionists declared themselves an independent state, to be called Medinat Israel (the State of Israel). On that same day, the armies of Egypt, TransJordan (now Jordan), Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq all joined the Palestinians to fight the Israelis. Unfortunately for the Palestinians, the Arabic troops were uncoordinated, and unprepared for combat. The first Arab-Israeli war (called the war of independence by the Israelis) lasted until December of 1948. The war left Israel with control over 3/4 of Palestine and displaced around 750,000 Palestinians. The homes vacated by these people were then filled with Jewish settlers, and Israel worked to strengthen its grip on the territory it controlled.
Though the borders of Israel remained basically unchanged until the Six-Day War in 1967, there were still many conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Israel had a problem with some of the 3/4 million refugees returning to harvest crops or to search for belongings. It dealt with this problem by shooting the refugees on sight, mining their former fields, and conducting raids into refugee camps. For example, in 1953, raids into refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank killed about 50 civilians each.
During this time, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) started a campaign of plane hi-jacking. They would separate the Jewish passengers on the plane, and hold them hostage for the release of political prisoners. However, around 1970, the PFLP strayed from its original purpose, and began killing random people in various places around the world. As the PFLP became randomly violent, the press coverage it received increased dramatically. The original goal of the PFLP was to bring publicity to the Palestinians cause, but the kind of publicity that they got didnt create many more sympathizers. From this campaign (and others) the Palestinians got the reputation of plane hi-jackers and terrorists a reputation they havent been able to shake.
The Six-Day War, and the expansion of Israel
Tensions in the Middle East quickly escalated after Israel began to construct its National Water Carrier, which would divert water from the Jordan River to the Negev desert. In response to this, the Arab League decided to divert the headwaters to the Jordan River, which prompted an Israeli attack. Tensions continued to build until June 5, 1967, when Israel launched attacks against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan simultaneously. In 6 days, Israel had gained control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israel now occupied an area that was 4 times larger than the one set aside in the 1948 resolution. The UN Security Council drafted a land for peace agreement, however very little happened diplomatically.
The Yom Kippur War and the invasion of Lebanon
In an attempt to catch Israel off guard, Egypt and Syria launched synchronized attacks against Israel on Yom Kippur 1973. Israel was eventually able to turn back their aggressions, however the casualties inflicted against Israel this time were far more numerous than the previous wars. In the peace agreements for this war, Israel withdrew from all the land in Syria it had gained in the war, and some territory it had been occupying since 1967. They also returned the Sinai peninsula to Egypt.
In 1982, Israel invaded Southern Lebanon, in an attempt to eradicate the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO was an organization formed in 1964 to liberate Palestine. It splintered into various groups, including the previously mentioned PFLP and al-Fatah, with which Yassar Arafat was associated; however all of these groups were under the umbrella of the PLO. This was in response to the wounding of the Israeli ambassador to London by a bomb set by a renegade Palestinian group that was not a member of the PLO. The US evacuated the PLO, and tried to promote peace between Lebanon and Israel. However US peacekeepers became the targets of suicide bombings, including a suicide truck bomb near the Beirut airport on October 23, 1983, which killed over 200 US Marines. The United States pulled out its Marines in February of 1984, and the Israeli troops, who had been subjected to the same type of warfare, withdrew to a 10 mile "security zone" in 1985. This was the last military confrontation which would occur, however both sides would continue their campaigns of terror.
The PLO cleans up its act
In 1974, after seeing very little accomplished as a result of its campaign of terrorism decided to shift its focus from terrorism to politics. This resulted in greater international acceptance of the PLO as something to be negotiated with, and also got the PLO a seat in the UN. However much of the PLOs credibility was lost when it provided support for the hi-jacking of a ship. In 1988, the PLO not only denounced terrorism, but they also acknowledged Israels right to exist. This restored some of their credibility; however it also caused many Palestinians to become disillusioned with the PLO. As a result, many Palestinians have aligned themselves with HAMAS or Hezbollah instead, groups which arent as interested in compromising with Israel.
The Intifada
The Intifada, which began in 1988, was unlike previous uprisings by the Palestinians. Previous uprisings were led mostly by the urban elite; however Israel had deported most of them. The Intifada on the other had was a grass-roots movement. The leaders of the Intifada kept themselves anonymous, both to avoid being arrested, and to emphasize that the Intifada was a mass movement and not one run by the political elite. The purpose of the Intifada was originally to improve conditions for the Palestinians; however as the tide began to shift their way, they called for an independant state next to Israel. They gained the attention of the United States, and as the PLO had renounced terrorism, The United States opened up a dialog with the PLO. This would lead to eventual breakthroughs in the peace process.
Both the Jews and the Arabs remember 1993 as a historic turning point in their long struggle. The following years would test the limits of Israeli perseverance. This was a vital time in the Middle East peace process, which was on the verge of collapse. The following paragraphs will outline the progression of the peace process following the drafting of the Oslo accords.
In 1993, an agreement was negotiated secretly by Israeli and Palestinian delegations in Oslo, Norway under the guidance of Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Jorgen Holst. The result was the "Declaration of Principles," or the Oslo accords. The Oslo accords are the foundation on which peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are based. It was signed in a historic Washington ceremony hosted by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993, during which PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin grasped hands in an uneasy, yet unforgettable handshake.
The declaration was the first phase in the ongoing peace process; it laid out the goals to be achieved. Those goals included the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the Palestinians' right to self- rule in those territories. Accompanying the agreement were the "Letters of Mutual Recognition." In signing those letters, Israel officially recognized for the first time the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. And for the first time, the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist, renounced terrorism, rescinded its call for Israel's destruction (a part of the PLO charter), and accepted the principle of land for peace. In addition to an agreement for Palestinian autonomy in Gaza Strip and West Bank (beginning in the city of Jericho), the Oslo accords also cited 1999 as the date for a final peace plan.
For both Israelis and Palestinians, the handshake between Rabin and Arafat marked a diplomatic end to decades of official hostility on both sides of the conflict. Leaders of both sides warned, however, that opponents of the accords would turn to violence to undermine the settlement. And unfortunately, the Oslo accords did not effectively curb the threat of terrorism. Since the accords were signed December 13, 1993, the frequency of terrorist attacks in Israel and the occupied territories increased. The number of people killed by Palestinian terrorists in the five years since Oslo (279) is greater than the number killed in the preceding 15 years (254). During the six years of the Intifada (the Palestinian uprising of the 1980s), 172 people were murdered, compared to the 279 in the five years since the Oslo accord. Extremist groups that had participated in the Intifada, most notably the military wing of the Hamas fundamentalist group, have shown their opposition to the Oslo accords and waged an ongoing campaign of violence against Israel.
On February 25, 1994, the Arab-Israeli peace talks came to a sudden halt when an Israeli extremist entered a mosque in Hebron, in the West Bank, and gunned down over 30 people, including women and children. In response, the UN Security Council drafted a resolution, condemning the massacre and calling for measures to afford guarantees for the safety of Palestinian international presence. The following is the entire resolution:
S/RES/904 (1994)
18 March 1994
Adopted by the Security Council at its 3351st meeting,
on 18 March 1994
The Security Council,
Shocked by the appalling massacre committed against
Palestinian worshippers
in the Mosque of Ibrahim in Hebron, on 25 February 1994, during
the holy month
of Ramadan,
Gravely concerned by the consequent Palestinian
casualties in the occupied
Palestinian territory as a result of the massacre, which
underlines the need to
provide protection and security for the Palestinian people,
Determined to overcome the adverse impact of the
massacre on the peace
process currently under way,
Noting with satisfaction the efforts undertaken to
guarantee the smooth
proceeding of the peace process and calling upon all
concerned to continue their
efforts to this end,
Noting the condemnation of this massacre by the
entire international
community,
Reaffirming its relevant resolutions, which affirmed
the applicability of
the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 to the territories
occupied by
Israel in June 1967, including Jerusalem, and the Israeli
responsibilities
thereunder,
1.Strongly condemns the massacre in Hebron and its
aftermath which took
the lives of more than 50 Palestinian civilians and injured
several hundred
others;
2.Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to continue
to take and
implement measures, including, inter alia, confiscation
of arms, with the aim of
preventing illegal acts of violence by Israeli settlers;
3.Calls for measures to be taken to guarantee the
safety and protection
of the Palestinian civilians throughout the occupied territory,
including,
inter alia, a temporary international or foreign
presence, which was provided
for in the Declaration of Principles (S/26560), within the
context of the
ongoing peace process;
4.Requests the co-sponsors of the peace process, the
United States of
America and the Russian Federation, to continue their efforts to
invigorate the
peace process, and to undertake the necessary support for the
implementation of
the above-mentioned measures;
5.Reaffirms its support for the peace process
currently under way, and
calls for the implementation of the Declaration of
Principles, signed by the
Government of Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization on
13 September 1993 in Washington, D.C., without delay.
Talks between the two sides resumed two months later in Cairo with the help of the United States and Russia, who co-sponsored the peace talks. On May 4, 1994, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed a final agreement to initiate an era of limited self-government for the approximately 900,000 Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Jericho. However, the provisions of the agreement alarmed some Palestinians, who were worried that it would fortify Israeli control in the occupied territories. They also asserted that the Cairo agreement simply reorganized the Israeli occupation, rather than terminating it. Additionally, although the accord included promises from both parties to prevent terrorist attacks against each other, Palestinian police had no right to detain Israelis, but at the same time is expected to prevent Palestinian attacks against Israel.
On May 10, 1994, Palestinian police entered the Gaza Strip to take over authority for the 850,000 people for the first time in 27 years. Twelve officials were sworn in as the new Palestinian Cabinet. But while 1994 saw many breakthroughs such as the inauguration of Palestinian self-autonomy in the occupied territories, it was marred by suicide bombings, perpetrated by members of Hamas. By the end of the year, 73 people had been killed (not including those from Lebanon-based organizations), making it the bloodiest year of the conflict.
The next two years saw little advancement in the peace process. On September 28, 1995, the PLO and Israel managed to reach agreement on the second stage of autonomy. Their agreement called for Palestinian elections and self-rule in most Palestinian areas of the West Bank. On November 4, 1995, the peace process received a severe blow at the hands of not a Palestinian, but an Israeli. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally by Yigal Amir, an ultra-nationalist law student and member of the far-right Jewish group Eyal. Rabin was succeeded by Shimon Peres who spent the remainder of the term following Rabins intentions of peace and good faith. On May 31, 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party was declared Prime Minister after narrowly defeating Peres. Netanyahu was a fierce opponent of those who had followed the mainstream tradition of military restraint and a willingness to compromise on territory for the sake of peace, such as Rabin and Peres. He won the election by persuading a majority of Israelis to join him in opposing relinquishing Israels control of the city of Jerusalem, and also opposed the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
Netanyahus election brought many doubts as to which direction the already unstable peace process would go. Terrorism continued unabated in 1995 and 1996, claiming approximately 52 and 92 lives, respectively. There were also numerous riots and other outbreaks in the occupied territories. The stalemate between the two sides continued until January 15, 1997. Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed an accord calling for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from 80% of the West Bank town of Hebron. The next day, the Israeli military complied and pulled back, as agreed, to an area including 400 Jewish settlers. There was still some tension after Israel proposed to withdraw from just 9% of the West Bank, as opposed to the 30% which the Palestinians were calling for. Furthermore, Israel began the construction of a new Jewish housing development in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem. Yasser Arafat condemned the project as an affront to peace. The tensions increased several days later after another Hamas suicide bomber killed himself and three Israeli women, also wounding several dozen others in the crowded Tel Aviv outdoor café.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority continued to maintain their unwavering positions and U.S. envoy Dennis Ross was unable to budge either side. Even a Clinton-Netanyahu summit concerning Israeli settlements in the occupied territories failed in Washington. On July 16, 1997, Israel received condemnation from the UN General Assembly for the unabated development in the disputed territories. Another suicide bombing in an open-air Jerusalem market prompted Israel to suspend negotiations and to seal off the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The bombings claimed at least 12 victims and wounded over 150 others. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
U.S. President Bill Clinton once again tried to jump-start the stalled peace process by hosting Netanyahu and Arafat at separate meetings in Washington. In April 1998, a U.S. proposal for Israel to withdraw from 13.1% of the West Bank was turned down by Netanyahu amid fierce pressure from his partys right wing. The same proposal was accepted by Arafat. Four months later, Netanyahu announced for the first time that he would accept the proposal as long as three percent of the land would be designated as a nature reserve. On October 7, U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright announced that a peace summit would be held in the United States. Eight days later, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat began negotiations at the Aspen Institutes Wye River Conference Center on Marylands Eastern Shore. On October 23, following a marathon, 21-hour bargaining session mediated by Clinton, Arafat and Netanyahu agreed on a breakthrough land-for-peace deal in the West Bank. The following are the key elements in the Wye River Memorandum:
A security plan to crack down on violence by terrorists.
Israeli troop redeployment from an additional 13.1 percent of West Bank land, to take place over a 90-day period.
14.2% Transfer of West Bank land from joint Israeli-Palestiniani control to Palestinian control.
The revocation of clauses in the Palestinian National Charter that are hostile towards Israel.
The guarantee of two corridors of safe passages between Gaza and the West Bank.
Israeli commitment for third-phase troop redeployment from the West Bank.
The release of 750 Palestinian prisoners in three phases.
The opening of a Palestinian airport in Gaza.
Unfortunately, the deal did not immediately go into effect. The Israeli Cabinet halted debate on ratification of the agreement in response to another terrorist blast in an open-air market which killed two people. Following an increased effort by the Palestinian police force to combat terrorist groups, including the Islamic Jihad which claimed responsibility for the attack, Israeli cabinet ministers approved the Wye River accord. Several days later, Netanyahu suspended West Bank withdrawal citing Arafats threat to declare Palestinian independence on May 4, 1999.
In early November, another tragedy was avoided after an Israeli military jeep intercepted a suicide car bomber. The jeep absorbed most of the blow, which had been intended for a school bus carrying approximately 40 young children. The blast claimed the life of the bomber and one of the Israeli soldiers in the jeep.
Chronology of bombings since 1993 Oslo Accords
The following is a list of suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks carried out since Israel and the Palestinians signed the Oslo peace accords in September 1993. It does not include the numerous drive-by shootings and stabbings. The death tolls refer only to the victims and do not include the bombers (unless stated otherwise).
1994:
Feb. 25 New York-born Dr. Baruch Goldstein, an Orthodox Jew living in the West Bank town of Hebron, guns down 29 Palestinian Muslims while they were praying at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Goldstein was then bludgeoned to death by surviving worshippers.
April 6 A 19-year-old member of Hamas carries out a suicide car bombing at a bus stop in the northern Israeli town of Afula. Eight people are killed and more than 50 are wounded.
April 13 A Hamas suicide bomber detonates an explosion aboard an Israeli commuter bus in the central town of Hadera. Five Israelis are killed, another 30 are wounded.
Oct. 19 A Hamas suicide bomber sets off an explosion on a bus traveling north along Dizengoff Street in the heart of Tel Aviv's shopping district. The blast kills 22 people and wounds 42 others.
Nov. 2 Palestinian journalist Hani Abed, an Islamic Jihad activist, is killed when his car blows up in the Gaza. Islamic Jihad blames Israel, which does not deny responsibility.
Nov. 12 A Hamas suicide bomber riding a bicycle detonates an explosion at an army checkpoint near the Netzarim settlement in Gaza. Three Israeli soldiers are killed, 11 others are wounded.
1995:
Jan. 22 Two Palestinian suicide bombers detonate explosions at the Beit Lid intersection between Netanyahu and the West Bank town of Tulkarm, killing 22 and wounding about 60. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.
April 2 -- Explosion in Gaza City apartment kills several Palestinians, including top Hamas guerrilla Kamal Kheil. Hamas, vowing revenge, blames Israel for the blast; accuses the Palestine Liberation Organization of collusion.
April 9 A suicide bomber belonging to Islamic Jihad drives his explosive-laden van into an Egged bus near the Kfar Darom settlement in the Gaza Strip, blowing up the bus. Seven Israeli soldiers, along with American student Alisa Flatow, are killed in the bus explosion.
Two hours later, a Hamas suicide bomber attacks an Israeli convoy near the Netzarim settlement, blowing up an Israeli border police jeep, but succeeding in killing only himself. More than 50 people are wounded in both attacks.
July 24 A suicide bomber blows up a Dan bus outside Tel Aviv's 40-story Diamond Exchange, killing six and wounding 32. Hamas claims responsibility, saying one of its members from the West Bank carried out the attack.
Aug. 21 A Hamas suicide bomber detonates an explosion on the No. 26 bus in Jerusalem's northern neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol, killing four people and injuring more than 100. Among the dead is American Joan Davenny, 47, a teacher at a Jewish school in Woodbridge, Conn. and former San Francisco resident.
Nov. 2 Two suicide bombers detonate explosions a minute apart near two buses in nearby locations in Gaza. Eleven Israelis are lightly wounded in the first attack, none in the second. The attacks are believed to come in retaliation for the Oct. 26 assassination of Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shakaki in Malta. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for both attacks.
Nov. 4 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an Israeli ultranationalist gunman.
1996:
Feb. 25 Hamas suicide bomber blows up a No. 18 bus near Jerusalem's central bus station, killing 26 people and wounding 48 others. Americans Matthew Eisenfeld of Hartford, Conn., and Sara Duker of Teaneck, N.J., are among the dead.
Less than an hour later, a second Hamas suicide bomb explodes at a soldiers' hitchhiking station near Ashkelon, killing one and injuring 31 others. The two attacks are said to be in retaliation for the Jan. 5, 1996, slaying in Gaza of Yehiya Ayash, a Hamas fugitive known as "The Engineer" because of his expertise with explosives.
March 3 A Hamas suicide bomber blows up a bus on Jerusalem's Jaffa Road, killing 19 people and leaving at least 9 wounded. The attack takes place on the same No. 18 bus line and almost at the same time as the previous week's attack.
March 4 A suicide bomb is detonated in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Center, killing 13, including children, and wounding at least 130 on the eve of Purim. Hamas claims responsibility.
Sep. 24-27 -- Protests and clashes break out in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem after Israel opens a tunnel near a Muslim holy site. More than 70 people are killed.
1997:
March 21 A Hamas suicide bomber detonates an explosion at the Cafe Apropos in central Tel Aviv, killing 3 Israelis and wounding 47 others.
July 30 Two suicide bombers strike in the Mahane Yehuda open-air market in Jerusalem, claiming at least 12 victims and wounding at least 150 others. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.
1998:
Nov. 5 A Palestinian suicide bomber attempted to ram a car full of explosives into a school bus carrying approximately 40 schoolchildren in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli military jeep intercepted the car, absorbing most of the blow. The blast claimed the life of the bomber and one Israeli soldier.
History of Terrorism outside of the Middle East
While the Security Councils are mainly focused on debating terrorism in the Middle East, this region is no means the extent of the problem. Every region of the world has been affected by terrorism in some form over the last few centuries, and more often than not these regions share the same deep rooted problems which have ignited in the Middle East. Even considering the problem would be a significant waste of time if we did not consider the past and present history of other forms of international terrorism. In order to review world terrorism, first we will discuss events before the 20th century.
Early History - 1900
Although the word Terrorism itself was not coined until the French revolution, during the Reign of Terror (1792 - 1794), terrorism has occurred since early history in various forms. Incidences of terrorism can be found rooted in as far back as Greek and Roman history, such as Julius Casesar's political assassination in 44 B.C. In the early Middle Ages, primitive terrorist groups evolved as guilds of assassins. Controlled by a political/spiritual leader who waged war against rival religious adversaries, these guilds offered both promises of religious reward and also unlimited access to narcotics to followers. References to these guild's assassinations can be found in both the works of Marco Polo and in Crusader's logs. Such brotherhoods have been known to exist as late as the mid-twentieth century.
Assassinations were common forms of terrorism continuing well throughout the Renaissance (in Italy) and the Age of Absolutism (in Spain and France). It was not until the divine right of kings lost it's luster amongst the people of Europe that assassinations became illegitimate (people whose governments sought to reform themselves and better their people rarely advocated use of political assassination). During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, another form of terrorism developed: Piracy. A century later pirates contracted by governments, privateers, began to carry out acts of terrorism against opposing armadas. Queen Elizabeth I of England had her noted ' Elizabethan Sea Dogs,' sent to ravage fleets of Spanish ships and wage acts of terrorism and violence. Privateering marked the start of state terrorism. Another significant form of state terrorism was during the French revolution. The Committee of Public Safety led by Robespierre, spokesman for the ruling Jacobin party, initiated a Reign of Terror in which an estimated 20,000 persons were killed. One such was the assassination of Marie Antoinette in 1793. After the French revolution, guerrilla warfare began to develop and become used. Guerrilla warfare, "an inurrectionary armed protest, implemented by means of selective violence", has since become used so frequently that it and terrorism "have become increasingly difficult to separate clearly." (Combs 25)
Anarchists in Russia around the late eighteenth century marked a significant development in ideologies conveyed through modern terrorism. Such anarchists as Mikhail Bakunin and Sergi Nechaev preached beliefs that terrorist violence was the only way to change. The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was the first major terrorist group to evolve which characterized the modern terrorist unit. Created in 1893 this group supported a mix of guerrilla warfare and terrorism in their fight, and left 200 Macedonian villages in ashes after an escalated conflict with their Turkish rulers (Combs).
1900 - Present
As times have changed, so has the face of international terrorism. As new ideologies and technologies have presented themselves, terrorist organizations have changed their methods of attack and the weapons of destruction used, to include both more available and more devastating weapons. As new national and international conflicts have emerged, so have new waves of terrorism to counter them. As acts of terrorism have evolved, so have their percieved definitions and characteristics. Along with all these changes have come the majority of significant terrorist acts. While the bulk of modern international terrorism became spurred around the 1950s, a number of significant groups evolved previous to these years (Combs). For example, some have deemed the purges conducted by the Soviet communist regime, both immediately following their rise to power in 1917 and later during the reigns of Lenin and Stalin, acts of terrorism. Similarly, the activities by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s and the 1960s are seen as acts of terrorism from one of America's oldest terrorist organizations. However, as events in the world such as the cold war developed, a number of new global hotspots of terrorism flared up. Many of these especially heated spots remain as sources of conflict to this day (Parry).
The following is a brief overview of major terrorist groups operating after 1950. This list is but only a glance at the most signifcant groups, and as many define acts of terrorism differently and argue the importance of certain groups on a region, it may include or exclude disputed groups. We encourage further research through the National Terrorism Research Center at www.terrorism.com into modern terrorist organizations for a more region-specific look at terrorist activities and other significant groups. This part is divided into global subsections by region, containing the groups located in that region.
The Americas
The National Liberation Army (ELN) is a Marxist gurrilla group formed in 1963 and operating in Colombia and the border regions of Venezuela. It is believed to contain at least 3,000 members. The ELN has kidnapped employees of large corporations in exchange for ransom monies, has conducted numerous attacks on the petrolieum industry's businesses and pipelines, and has forced local coca and opium farmers to pay for protection against Colombian efforts against illegal narcotics (elncol.htm).
Orden was formed as a counter to revolutionary activities in El Salvador. Started as a secret right-wing society, it was absorbed into the government in the 1960s. It was later disbanded in 1979 from pressure by the US to do so. Typically, Orden arrests people suspected of being revolutionaries, and either kills or delivers them to National Guard Posts. Orden has reportedly been responsible for a number of deaths, including the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero, as well as rape and murder of four American churchwomen. Orden continues to exist today, though it is a illegal party separate from the government (White).
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is by far the "largest, best trained, and best equipped guerilla orginization in Colombia." with 7000 or more suspected members, and unknown number of supporters. It was started in 1966 as the militant wing of the Colombian Communist Party, and maintains it's goal to overthrow the government. Operating in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama, the FARC conducts both political attacks and attacks in conjuction with it's drug trafficking ties (farc.htm).
M-19 is a left-wing terrorist group in Colombia dealing in narcoterrorism. In the late 1970s, M-19 was formed by a group of urban radicals. Later the group allied with drug traffickers, and began to provide protection to them. M-19 is responsible for transporting illegal narcotics outside of Colombia. M-19 is noted for an attack on a Supreme Court Building in Bogota to prevent extradition of a drug trafficker to the US.
M-19 also assassinated the attorney general of Colombia in 1988. His death was in retaliation for a number of arrests he warranted. A reported 20,000 people were involved in M-19 by the mid 1980s.
The People's Revolutionary Army of El Salvador was one of many remaining revolutionary organizations that fought under the title of the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN). Formed in 1971, this left-wing revolutionary group conducted several assassinations of Salvadorian officials and killed a U.S. Navy SEAL and six US marines.
Europe
The Red Brigades of Italy began operating in 1970, formed from the remnance of an old political party, the Metropolitan Political Collective. After changing their views to accept violence as the only solution, they began limited attacks. Eventually these led to an outbreak of terrorism after 1975, including the kidnap and murder of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro. In the early 1980s the highly structured group began a number of greatly coordinated attacks. In 1982 the Italian government destroyed a number of Red Brigade cells, and the remainder joined the French Direct Action in 1985. Police believe that the Red Brigade is trying to rebuild itself.
The Basque Nation and Liberty (ETA) is waged from the Basque region of Spain, it's members trying to separate from the country. After a violent terrorist campaign in the 1960s, Spain declared a state of emergency in the Basque region. The ETA assassinated the Spanish Prime Minister Luis Blanco in 1973. The Basque nationalist movement continued into the 1980s and still exists in Spain.
The Red Army Faction (RAF) began in Germany at the University of Berlin in 1968. It soon turned violent under Andreas Baader's direction and became an extremely proficient terrorist organization. Baader's suicide in 1977 led to a new wave of terrorism in 1981, in an organized anti-NATO war. One such attack in this campaign was an attempted assassination of two NATO commanders.
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) separated from the Original Official Irish Republican Army in the 1960s because of the OIRAs emphasis on socialsm, but maintains it is the true descendant of Irish republicanism. Since it's separation it has waged an inconsistent war against the OIRA. While the OIRA signed a peace treaty with the UK in 1972, the PIRA continued to fight. They have been responsible for hundreds of murders, and tried to sabotage the Anglo-Irish Peace Accord since 1985. Allied with the Republican armies, as well as the Irish National Liberation Army, the PIRA supports a widespread terrorist network(White).
Asia
The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, overthrew the government of Cambodia in 1975. The Khmer Rouge then undertook a campaign of terror perhaps second only in severity to the Holocaust. The Khmer Rouge terrorized teachers, doctors and most other professionals who the Communist leaders felt had no place in their new society in the country now called Kampuchea. In excess of 2 million people are believed to have been slaughtered during Pol Pot's reign of terror.
The Viet Cong, formerly known as the Vietminh, led terrorist activities in what was then South Vietnam from 1957 to 1975. These rebels killed village and hamlet chiefs and intimidated the people living in rural Vietnam. The Viet Cong were in league with the North Vietnam government in its goal to unify Vietnam under a Communist regime (Parry).
Sikh Terrorist Groups have conducted assasinations, bombings and kidnappings over the years against officials and facilities of India. Such groups include Dal Khalsa, Babbar Khalsa, the Bhinderanwala Tiger Force, the recent Saheed Khalsa Force (claimed responsibility for bombings in New Delhi in 1997) and the International Sikh Youth Foundation. The Sikh terrorists want to create a new independent state of Khalistan (Land of the Pure) from Northern India. Recent activities have decreased since 1992, as Indian police killed or captured a number of Sikh millitary leaders. The Sikh organizations have a peaceful international organization, the World Sikh Organization, to advertize the Sikh cause (sikh.htm).
In 1963 a Communist terrorist organization called the Pathet Lao initiated activities to overthrow a coalition government that they had participated in with non-Communist officials. The Pathet Lao received financial and military assistance from China, Russia and North Vietnam. The Pathet Lao initially used terrorist measures similar to those of the Viet Cong. They concentrated on terrorizing the poor uneducated rural residents. Upon taking control of the government they turned their attention to the urban community and, similar to the Khmer Rouge, started a campaign of terror and persecution against the intellectual, professional and business community (White).
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), founded in 1976, runs a guerrilla campaign started in 1983 against the Sri Lankan government in order to establish the sovereign state of Tamil. The LTTE is a highly organized, very powerful group carrying out suicide bombings and structured attacks against political and military targets during early morning, night and on holidays. Their most notable attacks were assasinations against President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993 and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Their ranks are known to include 10,000 armed combattants controlling the northern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka, led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE entertains contacts to the United Nations, and gathers political support and funding from it's North American and European connections (ltte.htm).
The Japanese Red Army (JRA) was conceived around 1970, when it separated from the Communist Leauge-Red Army Faction fighting in Japan. The JRA wants to overthrow the Japanese government and supports world revolution. Little about the groups's actual organization and location is presently unknown, but it is believed the JRA is led by Fusako Shigenobu and has a membership of about 7 main members. It now carries out attacks across the world, and has ties to multiple terrorist groups, such as Palestinian resistance. The JRA has coordinated two airliner hijackings, and attack on Lod airport in Israel during 1972 (jra.htm).
Africa
The National Liberation Front (FLN) launched an attack on the French Algerian government on Nov. 1, 1954. The group planned bombing raids, and assassinated French settlers and military forces. Their revolution came to a climax in 1961, when strong opposition met French troops. On July 3, 1962 France granted Algeria independence and the FLN subsided (Parry).
Revolutionaries in the Belgian Congo under Patrice Lumumba gained independence from Belgium through guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics. Eventually the revolutionaries subsided and the nation of Zaire was formed (Parry).
1995 General Assembly approves the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism
-All UN members reaffirm their unequivocal condemnation of all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable.
-These acts, methods and practices constitute a grave violation of purpose and principles of the UN.
-Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke terror are unjustifiable regardless of political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious, or any other nature that might justify.
-States must refrain from terrorism and ensure apprehension and prosecution or extradition of perpetrators of terrorist acts.
1997 General Assembly approves Supplemented Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism
-Condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism
-Calls upon states to adopt further measures (Example: July of 1996 in Paris,
France the seven most industrialized nations and the Russian Federation meet
and adopted measures relating to terrorism)
-Establishes an Ad Hoc Committee to meet to draft an international convention
for the suppression of terrorist bombings, and subsequently an international
convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism.
1998 General Assembly approves the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism
-Defines:"state or government facility", "infrastructure facility", "explosive or
lethal device", military forces of a state", "place of public use", and "public
transportation system"
-U.N. member states need to adopt measures to ensure that criminal acts within
convention have penalties consistent with their grave nature
-Defines when a state has jurisdiction over a trial for terrorist acts
Countries Accused of State Terrorism
Iran:
Iran has been supporting terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and HAMAS with money, weapons, and guidance for many years. Iran has also been known to assassinate members of resistant groups both living in countries neighboring Iran, and as far away as Europe. Recently, moderate Mohammed Khatami was elected as Irans president, who many hope will reverse some of the countries anti-western policies. So far there have been promising developments, such as Khatamis call for a dialog between the American and Iranian people. However there have been no noticeable changes in Irans actions to suggest that they intend to stop supporting terrorism.
Libya:
Since Qadhafis rise to power, Libya has also been widely believed to support terrorism. Libya is most well known for its refusal to extradite two suspects in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103; however its accused or more than just this. Libya is also accused of supporting many Palestinian terrorist groups, such as the Abu Nidal organization (ANO), whose head-quarters is in Libya, the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Ahmed Jabril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine¡General Command (PFLPGC).
Sudan:
Sudan is accused of harboring, providing with training facilities a number of terrorists groups, including HAMAS, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Sudan also refuses to extradite three suspects in the 1995 assassination attempt on Egyptian President Mubarak. Sudan's chief opposition leader, Sadeq el-Mahdi, says Sudan supplies diplomatic passports to terrorists to allow them to roam freely.
Syria:
There is no evidence that Syrian government officials have been involved in coordinating terrorist attacks since 1986; however they have been providing a safe haven for terrorist groups such as HAMAS and Hezbollah. The Syrian government is also involved in resupplying Hezbollah.
Bahrain:
Most terrorism in Bahrain is anti-regime unrest. The government does not support terrorism and has cracked down on these terrorist groups, arresting more than 2,000 since the unrest began in 1994. In June the discovery of an active Bahraini Hezballah cell that was recruited, trained and supported by Iran was publicly announced. Diplomatic relations with Iran have been strained since this announcement. Bahrain retaliated by recalling its ambassador from Tehran and by restricting commercial services and air transportation between the two countries.
Palestine:
In the past it is believed that Palestine was a large sponsor of terrorist activities, particularly in Israel. Following the 1993 Oslo Accords, the PLO renounced the use of terrorism, as it believes that peace is in the best interest of the peace process.
Sudan:
Sudan has never openly announced that it supports terrorism, but it is widely believed that there are offices for Hamas, Hezballah, and other terrorist groups located in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Furthermore, it is believed that there are terrorist training camps throughout Sudan. Sudan has been linked by the U.S. to the World Trade Center bombing and is currently under U.S. sanctions. This past August the U.S. ordered a cruise missile strike on a pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum that U.S. believed to producing terrorist weapons.
Syria:
Syria opposes peace with Israel unless Israel first returns the Golan Heights which once belonged to Syria. Syria has been accused of funding anti-Israeli terrorist groups such as Hamas. Additionally, Syria has been accused of providing aid to anti-PNA and anti-PLO groups since Syria opposes the peace process.
Afghanistan:
Islamic extremists from around the world including large numbers of Egyptians, Algerian, Palestinians and Saudis continue to use Afghanistan as a training ground and home base from which to operate. The Taliban, as well as many of the other combatants in the Afghan civil war, facilitated the operation of training for non-Afghans in the territories they controlled. Several Afghan factions also provided logistical support, free passage, and sometimes passports to members of various terrorist groups. These individuals were fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Kashmir, the Philippines and parts of the Middle East. Saudi-born terrorist financier Usama Bin Ladin relocated in the Talibans capital of Qandahar in early 1997. Bin Ladin warned the U.S. according to Pakistani press that if they attempted his capture, they would be taught a lesson similar to the lesson they were taught in Somalia.
Iran:
Iran denies all connections to terrorism and terrorist organizations. However it is widely believed that they support terrorism most notably Hezbollah.
Libya:
The end of 1997 marked the sixth year of Libyan refusal to comply in full with the demands of the UN Security Council adopted in response to Tripolis involvement in the bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772. Libya is believed to provide support to a variety of Palestinian terrorist groups including the Abu Nidal organization, the PIJ, and the PFLP-GC.
Japan:
Japan has been victim to some of the largest terrorist attacks recently. In 1996, terrorists took 700 people hostage, including the Japanese ambassador to Peru. In 1995, a terrorist released nerve gas in a Tokyo subway, injuring 5,500 and killing 12.
African Nations:
Friday August 7th, 1998 will be forever remembered in Africa. On this day, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed. Approximately, 262 people were killed and 5,000 were injured. Terrorism in both Kenya and Tanzania has had an additional side effect tourism has sharply decreased. Before this day, Africa had a reputation as a safe haven immune from international terrorism. Africans now know that terrorism can affect anyone and the results can be devastating.
India/Pakistan:
India blames Pakistan for their terrorism problems and accuses them of harboring terrorists. Pakistan blames India for state terrorism in Kashmir.
The Big Five:
In the United Kingdom, Hezbollah, Hamas and the PLO all have London centers. The Iranian Embassy in the U.K. is widely believed to be a traffic point between Iran and the United States. Additionally, the U.K. believes that the recent peace process can end terrorism in Northern Ireland. However, there are doubts about how long the peace can last. France has long been a target of international terrorists. France has called for more talks on terrorism. The United States has had a lot of internal terrorism problems including the Oklahoma City bombings and many abortion clinic bombings. Additionally, the U.S. is a target for many of the Middle Eastern terrorist groups due to the U.S. support for Israel. Russia is very short on funds and there are fears that nuclear materials might be sold to terrorist groups without the support of the government. It could be noted that Russian nuclear weapons are often kept in unsecured locations.
European Nations:
Europe is one of the hot spots for terrorist attacks. Some would suggest that the freer the society the more vulnerable it is to terrorist actions.
Ireland supports the peace process in Northern Ireland and they believe that the peace process can work. Officially, the government says that no dispute should result in terrorism. However, many people believe that some causes can be held very passionately and so they are sympathetic to the situation in the Middle East.
Questions a Resolution Should Address
1. What are the short-term and long-term goals in the Middle East in regards to terrorism?
2. What punishments are acceptable for people or groups that commit terrorist actions?
3 Should terrorists be extridited to the country where the action was committed?
4. Should the body of the U.N. address the problems that cause terrorism or the terrorist actions alone?
5. If the U.N. does not negotiate with terrorists, what organizations should talk to known terrorist organizations to promote peace?
6. Will a country be responsible for the terrorist organizations that may have headquarters in their state'?
7, Will there be punishments for groups that fund the terrorist groups but do not actually place the bomb, hold the gun.. .etc?
8. Is there such a thing as state terrorism or is it strictly an act of war?
9. Is freedom fighting different from terrorism?
10. No country will openly admit to sponsoring terrorism, if this is the case what organization(s) will monitor the flow of money from certain countries (i.e. Iran Iraq, Syria) to terrorists?
11. If the United States and its allies are considered to be the "Great Satan" by certain Islamic fundamentalists, should the U.S.A. be part of the peace process when it could make matters much worse?
12. is an attack on a sovereign nation in retaliation tor a terrorist action permissible, and if it is, could it be considered an act of war?
13. If the answer to both parts of number 12 is Yes, then will the U.N. be condoning war instead of the peace process and achieving peace through diplomacy?
14. Can a country achieve peace with terrorists through diplomacy.?
15. Should countries be able to "go after" certain leaders (i.e.. Saddam Hussein) or would that action be considered a form of terrorism itself?
Combs, Cindy C. Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997.
"Chronology of Terrorist Bombings Since the Oslo Accords,"
http://shamash.org/jb/bk970801/ussince.htm (11/30/98)
Laffin, John. Holy War; Islam Fights. Grafton Books Pub.; London, U.K. 1998
Lesch, Ann M. and Dan Tschirgi. Origins and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998.
McKune, Kenneth R. "Sudan and Terrorism." http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/mckune_970515.html
Washington, DC: May 15, 1997
Nasr, Kameel B. Arab and Israeli Terrorism. North Carolina: McFarland & Company,
Inc., Publishers, 1997.
National Terrorism Research Center. Group profile of the Japanese Red Army (JRA). http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/jra.htm, 1998.
National Terrorism Research Center. Group profile of The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/ltte.htm, 1998.
National Terrorism Research Center. Group profile of the National Liberation Army (ELN). http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/elncol.htm, 1998.
National Terrorism Research Center. Group profile of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/farc.htm, 1998.
National Terrorism Research Center. Group profile of Sikh Terrorism. http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/sikh.htm, 1998.
"Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism 1997."
http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Terrorism/sponsor_over.html
Parry, Albert. Terrorism: From Robespierre to Arafat. New York, NY: The Vanguard Press, 1976.
Shashaa, Esam. "Arab-Israeli Wars History."
http://www.toptown.com/office/holyland/wars.htm
"State Sponsorers of Terrorism 1996."
http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Terrorism/sponsortoc.html
"Struggle for Peace," http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/struggle_for_peace/background.htm
(11/30/98)
"Struggle for Peace: The Oslo Accords,"
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/struggle_for_peace/oslo.agreement.html
(11/30/98)
Taheri, Amir. Holy Terror. Abler and Adler. New York, New York. 1987
"Terror Against Israelis Has Grown Since Oslo,"
http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Peace/osloterr.html (12/5/98)
"Terrorist Activities in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and in the Gaza Strip,"
http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Terrorism/terrorstat.html (11/30/98)
"United Nations" http://www.un.org
White, Jonathan R. Terrorism: An Introduction. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks Publishing Co., 1991.
Wright, Robin. Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam. Simon and Schuster:
New York, New York 1992.
Interesting Web Sites
A site that has just about everything you ever wanted to know about terrorism
The International Counter Terrorism Organization website. Specific information on the Middle East
Information from the Israeli point of view. Very biased against the Arabs.
This supplies a list of on-line missions (After slash, type country name)