Terrorism as Self-Help: Accounts of Palestinian Youth Incarcerated in Israeli Prisons for Security Violations

Abstract

Adopting and expanding Black’s conception of terrorism as self-help, this study examines how Palestinian youth become involved in security violations. Based on an analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with 10 Palestinian youth incarcerated in Israeli prisons, their experiences are described, including the aftermath of arrest and imprisonment. Their accounts are complemented by interviews with six wardens and correctional officers overseeing the prison’s youth wings, a review of military court transcripts from proceedings leading up to the youth’s incarceration, and observations of participants’ daily prison routines. The data detail pathways and recruitment processes, motivations, rewarding aspects of participation, and the costs incurred as a result by participants and their families. Security violations are analyzed as self-help responses to collective grievances and personal problems. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Procedural Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and Reoffending: Adjudicating Palestinian Minors in the West Bank’s Military Court

“…When suitable, judges may include the minor’s parents in the discussions, who are usually present in the courtroom. As parents do not want to see their child go to prison, their dismay and expressions of pain or anger at their child’s behavior are often a powerful disincentive for minors to re-offend, assisting young defendants in staying away from activities that would land them in prison (Berko et al, 2017).…”

“…Palestinian minors’ security-related offenses are perpetrated for a variety of reasons, including ideological convictions about resistance to the occupation, peer pressure to join, avoiding problems at home by being arrested, or sheer boredom and lack of options for constructive use of time 2 (Berko et al, 2017; Hasisi et al, 2023). However, because the offenses are assumed to be motivated by ideological beliefs, and as the Palestinian Authority (PA) does not cooperate with the JMC recommendations for post-incarceration rehabilitation programs, the rehabilitative toolbox available to judges in the JMC is limited (Farber & Achai, 2020).…”

“…In the West Bank, as in other conflict zones, insurgent groups and terrorist organizations often recruit and enlist minors to assist in their military operations, as children and juveniles can provide practical, tactical, and strategic benefits to these groups (Erez & Berko, 2014; Homeland Security Institute, 2009). Palestinian juveniles have been used as lookouts, messengers, spies, recruiters, and photographers, providing “cover stories” for terrorist activities, smuggling or transporting weapons, and serving as “human shields” (Berko et al, 2017; Butler, 2015; Erlanger, 2004; Homeland Security Institute, 2009). Involvement in such activities, performing these roles, or being a member of a terrorist organization, are the paths that commonly bring Palestinian juveniles to the JMC.…”

Feminist Except for Palestine: Where Are Feminist Social Workers on Palestine?

“…This type of violence matters and should matter more to feminist social work given the gendered impacts of Zionism. Zionism's settler colonial violence seeks to dehumanize Palestinians in general, including women, by suggesting their struggle against the occupation stems either from their oppressive societies (Berko, Erez, & Gur, 2017), or a hatred of Jews, rather than because of the violence perpetrated against them (Ahmed, 2021). Ironically, Israelis frequently appropriate women's rights as propaganda to suggest it is the only democracy in the Middle East (Lloyd, 2014; Odeh, 2007).…”

Palestinian Women in Terrorism: A Double-Edged Sword?

“…13. The sense of thrill and excitement was also present in the interviewed Palestinian adolescent males, but in their case, the thrill of terrorism-related activities was in demonstrating gender comformity, namely proving manhood (see Berko, Erez, & Gur, 2017). 14.…”