veiled4allah: suicide bombings/martyrdom operations

For reference, here are three different views of the scholars on this issue:

Attacking the Enemy by Blowing Oneself up in a Car - Shaykh Muhammad al-Uthaimin says that it is haram

Attacking the Enemy by Blowing Oneself up - Shaykh Abdullah ibn AbdurRahman al-Jibrin says that it may be halal in some circumstances

Islamic Ruling on the Permissibility of Martyrdom Operations - Fatwa from Azzam.com arguing by analogy that it is halal

Having read these fatwas and other materials, it seems to me that there are two issues that we need to consider:

1) The Azzam.com fatwa makes an analogy between going into battle at hopeless odds knowing that you won't get out alive, but you're killed by the hands of the enemy, and killing yourself by your own hand. Is this a valid analogy?

2) The question of targets. Islamic law forbids the killing of civilians and non-combatants (see here) - but what is the precise Shari'a definition of civilians? Some scholars argue that because Israel requires all adults to serve in the army, then there are no "civilian" adults in Israel. Is this correct? Should we distinguish between those who are on active duty and those who are not? Other scholars argue that all adult Israelis by living in Israel are knowingly consenting to the Occupation and are therefore not "civilians". Is this correct? What about people who were born there and can't afford to leave?

For further reference, here are two articles written by non-Muslim Westerners: In Defense of Suicide Bombers, by Andy Martin, and Occupation and Terrorism, by Henry H. Lindner. Both articles attempt to put the Palestinian struggle in terms that Americans are more familiar with and argue that suicide bombings are justifiable within the context of that struggle.

You will notice that I have not given my opinion on this issue. The purpose of this post is to set out all of the issues involved and show the different ways that these issues can be approached. Feel free to post a comment with your opinion, inshallah.