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Existing scholarship has largely focused on the violence of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) when analyzing their response to the Oslo Agreement and the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) in the 1990s. The Islamist opposition’s contribution to Palestinian political thought has largely been ignored, however, although the prospects of Palestinian self-rule confronted the two movements with fundamental questions about social organization, governance, and the permissibility of democracy. I offer an analysis of key Hamas and PIJ texts from this period to demonstrate that Hamas and PIJ fundamentally differ in their analysis of the state and the organization of just society. While Hamas outlines a state-centric approach to governance through which Islamic values are enforced from above, PIJ perceives the state to be the greatest threat to the just organization of society. This article consequently dispels the myth that the two Palestinian Islamist movements had no significant ideological differences in the 1990s.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is one of the most important yet least understood Palestinian armed factions, both in terms of its history and ideology. Labelled a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, it has grown to become the second largest armed movement in the Gaza Strip and the third largest in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Using a wealth of primary sources, this book traces the history of PIJ from its origins in the early 1980s to today. By looking at how the group was established, how it has developed in theory and practice, and how it understands religion and politics, Skare seeks to answer the key question of why the PIJ still exist despite the presence of its more powerful sister movement Hamas. In doing so, he fills an important empirical gap in the literature on Palestinian Islamism.

In the past twenty years, Israel has discovered large deposits of natural gas in the exclusive economic zone off its coast. By exploiting these deposits, Israel is rapidly becoming not only self-sufficient in natural gas but also a potential exporter of natural gas, gaining considerable income. However, Israel faces serious security challenges, both from terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and from hostile nations like Iran. As the offshore gas platforms become increasingly critical for Israel’s economy they also become more appealing targets for Israel’s enemies. This thesis addresses the question: How severe are the threats posed by state and non-state actors against the physical security of Israeli offshore natural gas platforms? It finds that while Hezbollah and Iran are capable of attacking the Israeli offshore platforms, they are deterred by Israel’s credible threats and the substantial defense systems that protect the platforms and minimize the chances of a successful attack. Hamas and PIJ do not yet possess the required capabilities to significantly threaten Israeli offshore platforms. Therefore, unless the current geopolitical situation in the area changes drastically, the threats to the physical security of Israeli offshore natural gas platforms are minor. Lieutenant Commander, Hellenic Navy Approved for public release. distribution is unlimited

On December 14-16, 2009, a delegation from the World Federation of Scientists, including the authors, traveled to Damascus to interview senior Syrian and Palestinian leaders from Syria and various Palestinian factions, including the members of the leadership of Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The objective was to gain insight from field interviews into how to further advance scientific understanding of cultural and political conflict in order to create new theoretical and practical frameworks for negotiation and cooperation.