Boaz Ganor

Since declaring independence in 1948, Israel has been involved in an intractable conflict with the Palestinians and its neighbors. While violence has ebbed and flowed over the years, the threat of terrorism has remained a constant factor, shaping Israeli security policy in a unique way. Boaz Ganor provides an authoritative analysis of Israel’s approach to counterterrorism throughout its existence. Drawing on unprecedented access to Israeli leaders, he offers a comprehensive insider’s account of the decision-making processes, challenges, and dilemmas at the core of counterterror activities. Beginning with infiltration attacks from neighboring states immediately after independence and proceeding through the formation of organized Palestinian terror organizations up to the present day, this book details distinct eras of terrorism and how the Israeli state has counteracted them. Ganor also highlights the dynamic nature of both terrorism and counterterrorism: Just as waves of terror rise, fall, and evolve, so too do the measures employed to respond to them. He distills the lessons of Israel’s experience into key tenets for other countries facing the challenge of terrorism. The book features revelatory personal testimony from senior Israeli decision makers who have played pivotal roles in counterterrorism strategy, including prime ministers, defense ministers, Israeli Defense Forces chiefs of staff, and directors of Mossad and Shin Bet. Israel’s Counterterrorism Strategy is indispensable reading for students, scholars, and practitioners alike.

Origins to the Present

Israel's Counterterrorism Strategy

Katharina von Knop

Carlos A. M. Duarte

Covers topics such as the use of the Internet for psychological warfare in general and for terrorist 'narrow-casting' to specific audiences. This work analyzes terrorist websites in terms of common graphical and linguistic motifs. It discusses different methodologies for targeting different audiences.

Hypermedia Seduction for Terrorist Recruiting

Liram Koblentz-Stenzler

The book explores the main moral, ethical and operational dilemmas of targeted killings from an Israeli perspective. Even though many countries contending with terrorism have adopted this tool (either overtly or covertly) within the arsenal used in implementing their counter-terrorism policies, it seems that Israel, as one of the world's leading practitioner of targeted killing in its counter-terrorism effort, constitutes the most appropriate case study for reviewing implications and dilemmas associated with this practice. Each chapter will present a different ethical–moral–operational dilemma emanating from a deployment of a targeted killing. The analysis of Israeli considerations and solutions to these dilemmas is built around interviews with Israeli decision-makers, former senior security officials and other experts. The chapters also cover public opinion polls in order to highlight the views of the Israeli public vis-a-vis each dilemma. Finally, chapters will conclude with lessons learned and offer recommendations for a practical and moral solution. The final chapter then draws together universal conclusions and recommendations for the use of targeted killings.

Moral, Ethical & Operational Dilemmas

Israel’s Targeted Killing Policy

Many associate terrorism with irrational behavior and believe only lunatics could perpetuate such horrific acts. Global Alert debunks this myth by anatomizing the rationale behind modern terrorism. It draws a distinct picture of its root and instrumental causes and plots the different stages of a terrorist attack, from indoctrination and recruitment to planning, preparation, and launch. Global Alert also exposes the measured exploitation of democratic institutions by terrorists to further their goals. Despite its strong capabilities and extensive resources, the modern liberal-democratic state is nevertheless subject to the rules of war, which partially restrict the state's ability to operate and maneuver. Boaz Ganor shows how terrorist organizations exploit these values to paralyze or neutralize the states they oppose. In outlining this new "hybrid" terrorist organization and its activity in both the military–terrorist arena and the political–welfare arena, Ganor advances an international doctrine for governing military operations between state and nonstate actors as part of a new type of armed conflict termed "multidimensional warfare."

The Rationality of Modern Islamist Terrorism and the Challenge to the Liberal Democratic World

Global Alert

Hsinchun Chen

Edna Reid

Joshua Sinai

Andrew Silke

This book is nothing less than a complete and comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art of terrorism informatics. It covers the application of advanced methodologies and information fusion and analysis. It also lays out techniques to acquire, integrate, process, analyze, and manage the diversity of terrorism-related information for international and homeland security-related applications. The book details three major areas of terrorism research: prevention, detection, and established governmental responses to terrorism. It systematically examines the current and ongoing research, including recent case studies and application of terrorism informatics techniques. The coverage then presents the critical and relevant social/technical areas to terrorism research including social, privacy, data confidentiality, and legal challenges.

Boaz Ganor

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