ABSTRACT
For many people suicide attacks are the symbol of terrorism. More than any other form of terrorism these attacks demonstrate terrorists’ determination and devotion, to the extent of killing themselves for their cause. The vigour of this resolve is frightening and, as it is probably intended to do, instils the impression that people who are willing to sacrifice themselves cannot be stopped and their cause is bound to win. Suicide attacks have also been more lethal than other forms of terrorism. The attacks of 11 September 2001 in the USA caused nearly 10 times more fatalities than any previous terrorist attack in history. In Israel, suicide attacks in the course of the Palestinian intifada have constituted less than one per cent of the total number of terrorist attacks, but resulted in 51 per cent of the Israeli fatalities. The lethality of suicide attacks may explain the increasing attractiveness of this method for terrorist groups. Robert Pape (2003), for example, has attributed the proliferation of suicide attacks to their apparent effectiveness, arguing that campaigns of suicide terrorism have often succeeded in gaining at least partial concessions from the targeted governments.
