Through an analysis of Hamas’s suicide missions and Israel’s strategy of ‘shock and awe’, this article advances a concept of ‘violent dialogue.’ Drawing on Gadamer’s work, as well as some of the points that emerge out of the Gadamer—Derrida encounter, this concept is meant to explicate how acts of political violence create a certain type of communion between those engaged in violent conflict. It will suggest that the appearance of political violent acts does not represent the end of a dialogue between the violent actors, but rather the emergence of a specific form of dialogue under the subject matter of violence. It is argued that this communion takes place outside the intentions of the protagonists, and despite their attempts to separate from each other. This is significant for academic analysis of political violence in general, and for our perspective and outlook on the Israeli—Palestinian conflict in particular.
Agamben G. ( 1998) Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, trans. Heller-Roazen D. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
2.
Arendt H. ( 1969) On Violence. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.
3.
Avalon Project at Yale Law School (1988) The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Available at: www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/hamas.htm
4.
Baudrillard J. ( 2003) The Spirit of Terrorism and Other Essays, trans. Turner C. London and New York: Verso.
5.
Beck Ü. ( 2003) The silence of words: On terror and war. Security Dialogue34(3): 255-267.
6.
Bloom M. ( 2005) Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror. New York: Columbia University Press.
7.
Dallmayr F. ( 1989) Hermeneutics and deconstruction: Gadamer and Derrida in dialogue. In: Michelfelder D and Palmer R (eds) Dialogue and deconstruction: The Gadamer-Derrida Encounter. New York: State University of New York Press, 26-52.
8.
Das V. ( 2000) The act of witnessing: Violence, poisnonous knowledge, and subjectivity. In: Das V, Kleinman A, Ramphele M and Reynolds P (eds) Violence and Subjectivity . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 225-225.
9.
Derrida J. ( 1988 [1972]) Signature event context. In: Graff G (ed.) Limited Inc. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1-23.
10.
Derrida J. ( 1989 [1984]) Three questions to Hans-Georg Gadamer . In: Michelfelder D and Palmer R (eds) Dialogue and Deconstruction: The Gadamer-Derrida Encounter. New York: State University of New York Press, 52-54.
11.
Devji F. ( 2005) Landscapes of the Jihad: Militancy, Morality, Modernity . New York: Cornell University Press .
12.
Euben R. ( 2002) Jihad and political violence. Current History101(658): 365-376.
13.
Fisher D., Williams D. ( 1988) Palestine cannot be ceded, says Gaza group. Los Angeles Times, 6 September.
14.
Gadamer H-G ( 1989 [1984]) Text and interpretation. In: Michelfelder D and Palmer R (eds) Dialogue and Deconstruction: The Gadamer-Derrida Encounter. New York: State University of New York Press, 21-51.
15.
Gadamer H-G ( 2004[1960]) Truth and Method, trans. Weinsheimer J and Marshall DG. London and New York: Continuum.
16.
Gadamer H-G ( 2006[1970]) Language and understanding. Theory, Culture & Society23(1): 13-27.
17.
Gelvin J. ( 2005) The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War . New York: Cambridge University Press.
18.
Halevi YK ( 1992) A martyr for holy peace. The Jerusalem Report, 2 April. Available at: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=462085731&sid=8&Fmt=3&clientld=5220&RQT=309&VName=PQD
19.
Hoffman B., McCormick G. ( 2004) Terrorism, signaling, and suicide attack. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism27(4): 243-281.
20.
Israeli Defense Force (2007) Main doctrine. Available at: http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/doctrine/main_doctrine.htm
21.
Jabri V. ( 2006) Shock and awe: Power and the resistance of art. Millennium: Journal of International Studies34(3): 819-839.
22.
Khalidi R. ( 1997) Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness. New York: Columbia University Press.
23.
Levitt M. ( 2006) Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
24.
Lustick I. ( 1995) Terrorism in the Arab-Israeli conflict: targets and audiences . In: Crenshaw M (ed.) Terrorism in Context. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 514-552.
25.
Mbembe A. ( 2003) Necropolitics, trans. Meintjes L. Public Culture15(1): 11-40.
26.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007a) Basic Law - the army. Available at: www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1970_1979/Basic%20Law-%20The%20Army
27.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007b) Basic Law - human dignity and liberty. Available at: www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1990_1999/1992/3/Basic%20Law-%20Human%20Dignity%20and%20Liberty-
28.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007c) Declaration of establishment of state of Israel. Available at: www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Declaration+of+Establishment+of+State+of+Israel.htm
29.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007d) History: the state of Israel. Available at: www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/History+of+Israel/HISTORY-%20The%20State%20of%20Israel
30.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007e) Prevention of terrorism ordinance. Available at: www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1900_1949/Prevention+of+Terrorism+Ordinance+No+33+of+5708-19.htm
31.
Oliver AM, and Steinberg P. ( 2005) The Road to Martyrs’ Square: A Journey into the World of the Suicide Bomber. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
32.
Pape R. ( 2003) The strategic logic of suicide terrorism. American Political Science Review97(3): 343-361.
33.
Reuter C. ( 2004) My Life is a Weapon: A Modern History of Suicide Bombing, trans. Ragg-Kirkby H. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
34.
Ricolfi L. ( 2004) Palestinians: 1981-2003. In: Gambetta D (ed.) Making Sense of Suicide Missions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 77-130.
35.
Rodan S. ( 1993) Meet Mr Hamas. Jerusalem Post. 24 December.
36.
Sale R. ( 2001) Israel gave major aid to Hamas. United Press International, 24 February. Available at: http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/708609/posts
37.
Sprinzak E. ( 2000) Rational fanatics. Foreign Policy120 (September-October): 66-73.
38.
Tilly C. ( 2003) The Politics of Collective Violence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
39.
Weizman E. ( 2006a) Walking through walls: Soldiers as architects in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Radical Philosophy136 (March-April): 8-22.
40.
Weizman E. ( 2006b) The art of war: Deleuze, Guattari, Debord and the Israeli Defense Force. Available at: http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=07/01/16/033258&mode=thread&tid=9
