The 2000-2005 Palestinian Armed Rebellion
by A.E. Stahl
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In spite of the differing characteristics it embraces, the varying shapes that it takes on, and the differing parlance or speculations that are applied to it, all violence fought for the ends of policy represents "war". War will continue shifting and shaping society; it will influence all political entities; it will create new communities whilst aiding in the collapse of others; it will destroy peace but it will also construct an even better era than had previously existed — all of which is a result of the use of force for policy ends, as this is what war is, why warfare is waged, and this has always been war's purpose.
Despite the historical treasure chest of evidence and knowledge about war and warfare, the development of ineffective — even unrealizable — military doctrine and the constant invention of terminology have caused many to stray. It can be argued that new doctrine, taxonomies, and terminologies are not a result of the changing character of war but rather represent a type of disagreement over what constitutes war, as well as a disagreement over what warfare is supposed to do. Rather than utilizing history to make today's case, there seem to be attempts at redefining what war is, what it should be, and resultantly how warfare should be waged. Even agreeing on a definition of war continues in earnest, despite a near-perfect observation made in the nineteenth century.
A prime case where typological error is in abundance is in the description of violence between Israelis and Palestinians between 2000-2005. The purpose of this article is to bring greater clarity to the violence of 2000-2005, to both academics and military professionals. For the military professional, it is vital not to avoid being taken in by buzzwords but rather to stay on the path that over 2,500 years of history has offered. For academics, it is important to refrain from being hyper-analytical, which can result in the teaching of incorrect information about war and warfare. The key is to focus less on entertaining the invention of new terms and focus more on examining what is known, understood, and that which has stood the test of time.
Download the Full Article: The 2000-2005 Palestinian Armed Rebellion
A.E. Stahl is the co-founder and publisher of the strategy magazine, Infinity Journal. He is a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT, Israel) and a doctoral candidate in War Studies at King's College London.
