This article focuses on two young men from Gaza's al-Shati refugee camp who were among the first Palestinians to "martyr" themselves in suicide attacks against Israeli soldiers following the Oslo agreement. The story of the two friends, culled from conversations with their families, neighbors, and friends, traces a common itinerary from early Fatah militancy and intifada activism through progressive disillusionment with the peace process toward withdrawal into radical Islam. In the course of the author's inquiry, a window on life in Gaza in the post-Oslo period emerges.

LAMIS ANDONI is an analyst of Middle East affairs who writes for Middle East International.