Palestinian Islamists are regularly in the headlines these days, mainly for their violent attempts to undermine the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. What motivates the Islamists? How did they become such a powerful force?

Drawing on up-to-the-minute research, including extensive interviews with Palestinian and Jordanian Islamists, this book provides some startling answers, challenging prevailing ideas about Islamic resurgence and offering a unique insight into the origins, organization and ideological outlook of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two major Islamist organizations involved in the current wave of violence.