Resistance narratives: Palestinian women, Islam and insecurity

In response to their traumatic experience of dispossession, stateless Palestinians adopted several modes of resistance. Their efforts have included tactics deemed illegitimate by outside observers, and many Palestinians themselves. The involvement of women in violence has also provoked unease. It seems to throw into question women’s traditional role. This chapter explores Palestinian women’s justifications for what some describe as ‘atrocities’. However, random acts of violence by Palestinians, aimed at ending the Israeli occupation, can also be seen, in the context of this book as expressions of deep insecurity. Far from espousing a ‘moral’ cause, the use of indiscriminate violence suggests the disintegration of Palestinian claims to justice; this is further reinforced by the involvement of women as defenders and perpetrators of terror as a weapon of resistance