Year: 2002 Source: Christian Century, (August 14-27, 2002), p.22-25 SIEC No: 20060185

This article discusses Palestinian suicide bombers. It is asserted that outsiders can only begin to understand why they engage in these actions by accepting that many Palestinians see these individuals as martyrs and not suicide victims. In this context, the important issues have less to do with the social-psychological dynamics of suicide & more to do with the concerns of military ethics. Suicide bombings are a tactic by which Palestinians are attempting to engage an enemy militarily & as such they must be evaluated by the criteria of the just war tradition.