In 1997-8, the suicide bombing operations that were done by Hamas were at their top scale. The Israeli society then was in horror anticipating when and where the next operation is going to happen.

I remember at that time, late in the evening, a jewish friend came paranoiac to my home in the West Bank. She got horridly into my house horrified and laid in my bed asking me to stay with me for a couple of days, that she was in horror of the consecutive suiciders invading the Israeli cities. Her face showed contours of horror as she spoke to me. I calmed her down and we sat to chat.

The Israeli intelligence (Shabak) stood helpless in horror not knowing what to do and how to stop that crazy wave of “terrorist” consecutive operations. They imposed closures, curfews, did arrests, assassinations but all was in vain in front of a whole people struggling for its freedom on its occupied homeland.

In early 1998, I was asked by a Palestinian “friend” if I can do an “academic” research for a Palestinian “Human Rights” organization. They were looking for a "reasonable"  “academician” who can formulate a “coherent” and "authentic" study (in real time) of the “suicide bombers”. My “friend” told me that the “offer” (as if talking of a business deal) is so generous and all the expenses are covered plus a huge amount of money… and all is “academic research”

Within this context, I was asked to do this research. The research was to be done on all of the freedom-fighters who did suicide bombing operations; to meet their families, to gather and analyze statistics of them and their families, their social and geographical background, their habits, their ages, their degree of education …etc.

They, the Israeli intelligence (Shaback) was trying to preempt and anticipate the coming suicide bomber through studying the “typical suicide bomber”. They thought that through such a “coherent”, “academic” and thorough research they will be able to stop that attacks.

There is nothing better than using a “Human Rights” organization to do such a research pretending it to be a “purely” human rights “academic” research !! But I felt suspicious and refused to do that “academic” research !!! Do you see how some “academicians" work under occupation?

For our luck, we Palestinians, have 52 “human rights” organizations in the West Bank only, and an endless number of other “academic” international organizations of NGOs. Every country, every intelligence agency has its own organization(s). I bet even the Somalis have their own NGO working in gathering information on our occupied Palestine and it’s all a “pure”, “academic” research for the help of the poor Palestinians !!!

Again, in early 2002, two years before Arafat was assassinated, and two years after the beginning of the second in tifada, after the Almighty Sharon decided that Arafat is “irrelevant” peace partner, I faced this trick of “academic” research again. My roommate got the chance (funny, it’s a chance to serve the international intelligence agencies) to do another “academic” research about Arafat

This research, also generous and fat, was done by an “academic” political studies center, directed by Palestinians of course, but moved by…by !! how could I know, as a primitive Bedouin?

This research was done to assign “the potential successor of Arafat”, with questionnaires, statistics, interviews, analytical information of politics, economics …etc, compelled very well as if it is a well “coherent”, “academic”, and "humanitarian" research done by an “academician” of course, to serve developing a "good-governance" rule in Palestine !! The result was amazing and fantastic; the “irrelevant” Arafat was assassinated two years later !!!

See how the “benevolent” NGOs and “Human Rights” organizations work under occupation? Shall we call it the age of "Security through NGOs" or the "Age of Intelligence through NGOs" !!!

Sami, the Bedouin.