Introductory remarks -- Rationality, nationalism and political Islam -- A brief political history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- Rationality and the convergence of expressive and instrumental violence -- Palestinian nationalism, identity and the norm of militant heroic martyrdom -- Political Islam and the rhetoric of jihad and martyrdom -- Concluding remarks -- Appendix A: List of interviews -- Appendix B: Suicide bombings conducted by Hamas, 1993-2006 -- Glossary -- Bibliography.