ABSTRACT
The interviews covered in this essay were carried out in Israeli prisons among Palestinians detainees who were convicted of terrorist crimes, and thus the setting was controlled and relatively safe. In this situation the respondents are not under constant threat of arrest or targeted assassination, they have time for resting, reading and contemplating their actions in the past and future. Needless to say, interviews in such a setting are likely to differ from those conducted with active terrorists, who are still deeply involved in terrorist activities and combat, constantly in danger of persecution by their adversaries. Unlike in the case of interviews with active terrorists, the prison setting enables extensive and detailed conversations and dialogue between the researcher and the interviewee. In certain cases, this type of research may even leave room for further development of a relationship and a more comprehensive understanding of various factors involved in the process of terrorist operations.
