One of the quandaries facing academic researchers, military and security professionals and politicians is the question of “defining terrorism.” The prevailing opinion is that there is no international agreement on the phenomenon of terrorism, nor can there ever be such agreement. Indeed, the number of definitions in use today is at least as great as the number of researchers. And yet, the strategic war against terrorism requires international cooperation against terrorist organizations and the countries that sponsor them. Such international cooperation requires us to reach an internationally accepted definition of terrorism—based on objective and measurable criteria—on which an international strategy for fighting terrorism can be established.

Over the past few months Hamas has been expanding its activity and influence in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. One vehicle for this expansion is a London-based center called “The Palestinian Return Center” (PRC). In November 1998 the center opened an Internet site, which at this time is still under construction.

Over the past few years the public discussion of the problem of terrorism from Lebanon has centered only on two options: a Israeli unilateral withdrawal without prior security arrangements; or a withdrawal in the framework of a general settlement, which would enable Syria to reap the fruits of its occupation of Lebanon and ensure the recovery of the Golan Heights at minimal cost. The time has come to look at the new strategic map and examine other options.

In the past few weeks several articles have been published by prominent figures in Hamas hinting at a possible change--or at least rethinking and reevaluation--of its terrorist tactics. Yet another of these articles was published in the October 1998 issue of the monthly Filastin al-Muslimah, the principal organ of Hamas, published in London. The article, this time under the very clear title: “A new method of military resistance in Palestine,” is unsigned. An anonymous article in this monthly usually means either that it reflects the views of the Hamas leadership rather than those of an individual member, or that it was sent from inside the Territories and its author does not want to be exposed to pressures from the Palestinian Authority. It should be noted that the present article was written before the killing of the Awadallah brothers and the threats of Hamas to carry out large-scale operations in revenge.

On the background of the many threats by Hamas to avenge the killing of the Awadallah brothers on September 11th and to renew its terrorist activity in Israel, it is of interest to note some conflicting voices in the Islamic movement. On September 8th, two days before the Awadallah incident, one of the leading ideologues of Hamas, Munir Shafiq, published an article in the weekly Al-Sabeel (the organ of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood) calling for a reevaluation of the movement’s use of terrorism.

According to a number of recent reports in the Israeli Media, the Israeli security forces have been increasingly troubled by an upsurge in hostile actions on the part of Jewish settlers. There are reports of acts against the Palestinian population, possible attempts to target high-ranking Israeli officials and the potential inception of a new Jewish underground.