Altruism and Fatalism: the Characteristics of Palestinian Suicide Terrorists

The present analysis aims to discover who Palestinian suicide terrorists are, & what drives them to commit these acts. The analysis relies on the concepts of altruistic & fatalistic suicide from Durkheim’s typology of suicide behavior. The authors argue that based on a newly established database compiled for this purpose, Palestinian suicide terrorists from 1993 until the beginning of 2002, can be labeled under a new category of “fatalistic altruistic” suicide, as they fit some elements from both types. (30 refs)