ABSTRACT
Behaviour and psychology play a significant role in explaining the dynamics of many conflict situations. In the Arab—Israel conflict, postcolonial thought has been the source of much of the more pervasive attitudes that have been part of the struggle in what Jews call Israel and Arabs refer to as Palestine. Postcolonialism refers to thinking that is based, in part, on interpreting events in certain societies in light of their historic colonial experience. The application of particular political language and how societies view these expressions is a key behavioural factor in formulating attitudes. In October 1973, Egypt and Syria coordinated a surprise attack on Israel in what has been called the 'Yom Kippur War'. For many years, the territory of Lebanon has served as a base from which attacks were launched against the northern communities of Israel. Within the Arab world, some, recognizing the problems associated with continued rejectionism, are calling for a re-evaluation of strategy.
