Every terrorist sees himself as a victim. This is the case not only with individuals, who often compete with their enemies as to who is the greater victim, but also with terrorist groups and states. Terrorism is philological warfare, and therefore requires a philologically informed response. Those who study trauma know that "hurt people hurt people," and this is also true of terrorists.
People who live in a state of existential anxiety tend to dehumanize others. Hamas, for example, calls Israelis "infidels" while Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant referred to Hamas members as "human animals" and both sides called each other "Nazis". With such speech, it is easier to overcome resistance to crimes.
Just as individuals can resist their righteous anger and urge to punish mercilessly, so can groups and states. However, this requires leaders able to bridge divides and offer hope in seemingly hopeless times to resist the primal human urge to take revenge. They must understand that a traumatic legacy makes Israeli Jews and Palestinians vulnerable to reactive violence, leading to an endless cycle of bloodshed.
Although terrorists rarely achieve their political goals, they often succeed in one thing: forcing the enemy to overreact. Terrorists try to provoke an unbalanced response, hoping to win favor and radicalize a new generation of young victims. Hamas applied this strategy when it attacked Israel on October 7 and activated the generational memory of pogroms, the Holocaust and expulsions from European countries, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Yemen among many Israelis. And Israel's indiscriminate attacks in Gaza, which have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands, have caused Palestinians to relive the nakba, the violent displacement of Palestinians from the time the state of Israel was formed in 1948. Both Israelis and Palestinians are now trapped in a trap created by Hamas. : a traumatic embrace of death and despair in which each side considers itself a victim, feels the wrath of the righteous and wants revenge, while competing for the world's favor.
It is too late for Israel to respond in a limited way. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israel killed more than 17.000 people, more than two-thirds of whom were women and children. The cost of the war between Israel and Hamas will long be felt by the direct victims as well as the children who survive, whose brains will forever be shaped by exposure to horrific violence and the loss of loved ones. This is true for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Defeat the hydra
Populations that experience terrorism naturally unite around their national, tribal or religious identities and demand revenge from their leaders. However, mass retaliation rarely works. Usually, in fact, a disproportionate response to terrorism breeds more terrorist attacks.
Shared trauma creates a strong bond among survivors and leads to an "us versus them" attitude, in which the outside world is perceived as hostile, and only people belonging to the same tribe, religion, or ethnic group are considered worthy of trust and loyalty.
For example, in 1986, terrorists acting on behalf of the Libyan government bombed a nightclub in Germany that was popular with American soldiers, killing three people and injuring 200 others. In retaliation, the United States killed dozens of people in bombings in Libya that targeted military installations and the residence of Muammar al-Gaddafi.
According to a study by political scientist Stephen Collins, the US retaliation resulted in four times the number of casualties: Libyan-backed terrorists killed 599 people in the four years following the US response, compared with 136 the previous year.
Similarly, the Irish Republican Army flourished in the face of aggressive state repression. During 1968 the IRA appeared to be on the wane, however over the next two decades it would become the best funded terrorist group in the west.
Most revolutions are not caused by revolutionaries at all, but by the stupidity and brutality of governments, said one of the leaders of the Irish Republican Army.
In 1969, Catholics rioted in response to discrimination by the Protestant majority in Northern Ireland. The rebellion was partly instigated by the IRA. Over the next four years, Protestant extremists drove about 6.000 Catholics from their homes, in what was then the largest ethnic cleansing in Europe since World War II. That displacement increased support for the IRA cause. Terrorism researcher Andrew Silke said "that the IRA itself worked to provoke strong measures by the security forces, knowing the benefits in terms of support and recruitment". When the group provoked riots in 1970 in the Ballymarfi district of Belfast, security forces responded with tear gas, which further alienated Catholics in the area. Silke notes that the security forces did not have "the restraint that is necessary in a propaganda war". As Sean Mac Stiophen, the leader of the IRA, wrote in 1975, "most revolutions are not caused by revolutionaries at all, but by the stupidity and brutality of governments". He was right. By responding so aggressively, British forces and Northern Ireland police fell into a trap set for them by the IRA.
Governments continue to fall into similar traps. Academics often compare terrorist organizations to the hydra, a monster from Greek mythology. Every time the state tries to tear off the head of the hydra, two heads grow in its place. More than 20 years ago, Ismail Abu Shanab, the founder and influential member of Hamas, said that "the genius of the terrorist fight against Israel is that it feeds on Israeli "crimes".
How to resist
Hamas leaders have always been willing to allow young Palestinians to die in suicide bombings. In 1996, Israeli security forces killed Yahya Ayash, Hamas's chief bomber, by planting an explosive device in his cell phone.
After that, his deputy Hassan Salemah organized the deadliest series of suicide attacks in Israel, killing over 60 people. Salemah said that he does not regret the lives of young Palestinians who were lost in those attacks. "The terrible things that are happening to the Palestinian people are far greater and more powerful than any feeling of sadness or guilt." Suicide attacks increased during the second intifada. An estimated 1000 Israelis were killed in the attacks by Palestinian terrorists, while the Israelis killed 3000 Palestinians in response. Also, as part of the reaction to the second intifada, Israel built a wall on the border with the West Bank, which was condemned by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations and led to accusations that Israel created an apartheid state like the former racist South Africa.
Hamas is willing to sacrifice the lives of not only suicide bombers but also thousands of civilians. Khalil al-Haya, a senior Hamas official, told The New York Times in November that the group knew the reaction to the attack "would be strong." Hamas was desperate to shake up the status quo and put the Palestinian issue back on the world stage.
Israelis and Palestinians are now trapped in a trap created by Hamas: a traumatic embrace of death and despair in which each side feels victimized, feels the wrath of the righteous, and wants revenge, all while vying for the world's favor.
Many analysts warned that violence would break out under the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu. In April, Michael Barnett, Nathan Brown, Mark Lynch and Shibli Telhami told Foreign Affairs that "the risk of major violent conflict grows every day as Palestinians are locked in a growing system of legalized repression."
Historian Rashid Khalidi points out that, although the Jewish people have an "indisputable connection" to the Holy Land, "Israel was founded as a colonial project by European settlers." And although all indigenous peoples resist colonialization - whether Algerians, Irish or Native Americans - the Palestinian struggle is complicated by the history of persecution of the Jewish people.
Because of that history, armed resistance appears to be particularly counterproductive in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite having yielded results in some other wars against colonialism. Academician Edvard Sed said that Palestinians are "victims of victims, refugees of refugees"
In general, nonviolence has proven to be the most effective means of resistance.
According to the research of political scientists Erika Čenovet and Marija Stefan in the period between 1900 and 2006, non-violent resistance had twice the chance of achieving the declared goals than violent resistance.
However, such strategies can only work if Palestinians reject violence in favor of nonviolent protests, and Israel allows Palestinians to protest nonviolently. A good example is the African National Congress - the political party that ended the apartheid regime in South Africa. The ANK mostly refrained from terrorism against civilians. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent resistance in India, this movement believed that a country conceived in bloodshed would be caught in an endless loop of ethnic violence. Journalist Peter Beinart said: "They refused to terrorize and traumatize white South Africans because they did not want to expel them. They wanted to win them over to their vision of multiracial democracy".
Hamas, unlike the ANK, does not have such a vision of a multi-ethnic state, therefore it is not interested in non-violent resistance.
The group's goal, according to its founding document, is to destroy Israel, exterminate the Jews and establish a theocratic state.
Israel's current right-wing government also seems disinterested in creating a multi-ethnic state with equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.
For the good of all, both Israelis and Palestinians, Hamas should be ousted from power. However, eliminating this organization through mass bombing comes at too high a price. The best way for a government to fight terrorists is to avoid killing civilians, otherwise the cycle of victimization will only breed more terrorists. Pressure from foreign governments can also help. The United States, for example, should require the protection of civilians as a condition for sending Israeli weapons and should deny visas to Israelis living in illegal settlements.
Empathy
When people live in chronic terror, their minds become quick to detect danger and they tend to react strongly to even the slightest provocation. Shared trauma creates a strong bond between survivors.
It also leads to an "us versus them" attitude, in which the outside world is perceived (often justifiably) as hostile, and only people belonging to the same tribe, religion, or ethnic group are considered worthy of trust and loyalty. Growing up in terror, whether familial or political violence, leaves deep marks on the developing brain and identity: spotting and dealing with threats becomes a key preoccupation at the expense of nurturing the ability to work and play. In order to stop the intergenerational cycle of trauma, it is necessary to stop the violence and develop empathy in those who have survived the trauma.
There is a glimmer of hope that outside powers will now find a way to help the Israelis and Palestinians find a solution - whether it is the creation of two states, as envisioned in the Oslo Accords; a confederation like the European Union, an idea supported by a new generation of Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers; or one state with equal rights for both Palestinians and Jews.
Whatever comes next, it's important to remember that for those who have been hurt, hatred can be an extremely powerful motivator, while grieving, sharing, and reconciliation are deeply complex and demanding processes. However, they are the only hope to stop the transmission of violence from generation to generation.
Authors: Jessica Stern - professor at Boston University and expert on terrorism; Bessel Van der Kolk - psychiatrist
The text was taken from the magazine "Forin afers"
Translation: N. Bogetić
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