Shahid (Martyr)

Shahid (Arabic, “witness,” i.e. martyr) is applied across Palestinian society not only to civilians killed in war but to suicide bombers and gunmen killed while attacking, sanctifying the perpetrator as a holy hero. Hamas even coined a separate word, istishhadi (“martyrdom-seeker”), for those who set out to die killing. The framing is taught to children and funded through the Palestinian Authority’s “pay-for-slay” stipends to attackers’ families, turning murder into an aspiration.