Child suicide bombers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Encyclopedia
In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
, Palestinian militant groups have recruited minors to attack Israeli targets, both military and civilian, especially during the Second Intifada. In some cases these attacks have been suicidal in nature
. This deliberate involvement of children in armed conflict has been condemned by international organisations and certain Palestinian groups.
According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
"2004 Global Report on the Use of Child Soldiers", there were at least nine documented suicide attacks involving Palestinian minors between October 2000 and March 2004. According to the Israel Defense Forces
from September 2000 through 2003, 29 suicide attacks have been carried out by youth under the age of 18, 22 shootings attacks and attacks using explosive devices were carried out by youth under the age of and more than 40 youths under the age of 18 were involved in attempted suicide bombings that were thwarted.
"2004 Global Report on the Use of Child Soldiers", there were at least nine documented suicide attacks involving Palestinian minors between October 2000 and March 2004 In 2004, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reported that "there was no evidence of systematic recruitment of children by Palestinian armed groups," also noting that this remains a small fraction of the problem in other conflict zones such as Africa
, where there are an estimated 20,000 children involved in active combat roles
in the Sudan
alone. Human Rights Watch
also reported that "there was no evidence that the Palestinian Authority (PA) recruited or used child soldiers."
According to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
, in the al-Aqsa Intifada
, Palestinian military folk have used children as "messengers and couriers, and in some cases as fighters and suicide bombers in attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians." Fatah
, Hamas
, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP) have all been implicated in involving children in this way, see Convention on the Rights of the Child
. The issue was first brought to world attention after a widely televised incident in which a mentally handicapped Palestinian teenager, Hussam Abdo
, was disarmed at an Israeli checkpoint. The youngest Palestinian suicide bomber who blew himself up was Issa Bdeir, a 16-year-old high school student from the village of Al Doha. He blew himself up in a park in Rishon LeZion, killing a teenage boy and an elderly man.
Human rights
organizations such as Amnesty International
has strongly and repeatedly condemned violence against civilians:
Despite the harsh condemnations and internal controversy, Palestinian militant groups such as Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
and Islamic Jihad, have used children as militants and suicide bombers.
at the University of Virginia
School of Medicine Vamik Volkan
,
Volkan gives the examples of beatings, torture, or the loss of a parent as typical humiliating events which might make a young person more susceptible to recruitment for suicide terrorism.
Once recruited, children and teenagers are encouraged to cut off contact with "real world" affairs and subjected to an intense program of memorization and repetition of the Qur'an based more on sound than on meaning.
Anne Speckhard, adjunct associate Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center and Professor of Psychology, Vesalius College, Free University of Brussels, writes:
Umm Nidal
, who sent three of her sons, including one 17 year old, on suicide attacks, said "I love my children, but as Muslims we pressure ourselves and sacrifice our emotions for the interest of the homeland. The greater interest takes precedence to the personal interest." She was later elected to the Palestinian legislature on the Hamas ticket. According to Human Rights Watch
,
:
On 29 March 2002, Ayat al-Akhras
, a teenager from the Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem
, detonated explosives strapped around her waist in a supermarket in Jerusalem, killing herself, a 17 year-old Israeli girl named Rachel Levy
, and a 55 year-old security guard named Haim Smadar.
The 'Baby Suicide Bomber' refers to a photo that received media attention in 2002.
During a search done on 29 June 2002, of a house belonging to a Hamas
militant in the town of Hebron
, The IDF
claims to have found a photo showing a 18-month infant standing wide-eyed in a baby suit, Red wires strapped to his waist, with a pretend explosives belt, and across his head tied a red bandana of Hamas.
According to BBC News
the baby's grandfather, Redwan Abu Turki, said that the dressing of the infant baby as a bomber was from a rally at the university and that "the picture was taken just for the fun of it".
Israeli newspapers published the photograph under headlines such as "Terror in Diapers" and "Born to Kill". Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's advisor Dore Gold
said the picture "symbolizes the hatred and incitement which the Palestinian leadership has been feeding a whole generation of Palestinian youths." At the U.S. State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher
stated that he considered the image as "a highly objectionable display."
While Palestinian officials dismissed it as a propaganda
trick, Haaretz
reported that a Palestinian journalist in the Hebron area said she did not believe the picture was a fake and expressed surprise at the furor it caused in Israel
Other photos of children dressed up as terrorists have been published since then.
, a 16-year-old Palestinian (who initially claimed he was 14), was captured in a checkpoint near Nablus
wearing an explosive belt
. The young boy was paid by the Tanzim
militia to detonate himself at the checkpoint. IDF soldiers manning the checkpoint were suspicious of him and told him to stay away from people. Later, an EOD
team arrived and by using a police-sapper robot, removed the explosive belt from him. Hussam explained that he was offered 100 NIS and sex with virgins if he would perform the task. He said his friends mocked him in class.
On May 29, 2004, The New York Times
reported Israeli allegations that the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
were using children to recruit classmates as suicide bombers.
One child, Nasser Awartani, 15, of Nablus allegedly recruited four of his classmates, one of whom was claimed by the Shabak report on Awartani to be Hussam Abdo.
On June 16, 2004, two girls - aged 14 and 15 were arrested by the IDF for allegedly plotting a suicide bombing. According to an IDF statement, the two children were recruited by activists from Tanzim (Fatah
's armed wing), guided by Hezbollah.
On July 3, the Israeli Security Forces
thwarted a suicide bombing which it claimed was to have been carried out by 16-year-old Muataz Takhsin Karini. Karini and two of his operators were arrested, while a 12 kg explosive belt
was detonated safely by an Israeli EOD
crew. On June 5, IDF forces detonated two explosive belts concealed in schoolbags. On July 14, the Shin Bet arrested in Kfar Maskha a suicide bomber. The bomber was identified as 17-year-old Ahmed Bushkar from Nablus
.
On September 23, 2004, a day before Yom Kippur
, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police
announced their capture of a 15-year-old suicide bomber and a 7 kg explosive belt
in the village of Dir-Hana in the Western Galilee
. The 15-year-old was part of joint terrorist cell of Tanzim
and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Yamon village near Jenin
. The four were Palestinians who worked illegally in Israel. The 15-year-old was allegedly paid 1000 shekels in order to blow himself up in Afula
.
According to a Shabak report published on September 26, 2004, about 292 Palestinian children have been involved in terrorism
.
On September 27, 2004, a 15-year-old suspected suicide bomber was arrested in Nablus
. On October 28, Ayub Maaruf, a 16-year-old Fatah
suicide bomber, was arrested near Nablus along with his operator.
On November 1, 16-year-old Aamer Alfar blew himself in Tel Aviv
's Carmel Market
, killing 3 Israelis in a suicide bombing that was claimed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
. Alfar's mother and father condemned what they saw as the exploitation of their son:
On November 4, a 15-year-old suicide bomber was arrested in Nablus
.
carrying a bag containing an explosive belt
, an improvised gun, and 20 bullets. The belt was detonated safely by a Magav
bomb squad
.
On April 12, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy identified as Hassan Hashash was caught at Huwara checkpoint hiding five pipe bomb
s under his coat. He tried to ignite them with a match when the soldiers apprehended him. Later he was disarmed, and sapper
s detonated the bombs safely. Family members of Hashash suggested that he deliberately carried bombs into an IDF checkpoint in order to be arrested and study for the "Bagrut" final exams in the Israeli jail. A week later, another Palestinian youth (aged 17) was caught carrying explosives in Beit Furik
checkpoint.
On April 27, two Palestinian
teenagers, both aged 15 (though other sources cite their ages as 12 and 13), were arrested at a checkpoint near Jenin
after 11 explosive charges
were found on them. One teenager was recruited by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the other by the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
. The two told interrogators that they had been acting as couriers for terrorists, but security forces suspect they planned to get close to the soldiers and then detonate the charges.
On May 22, Iad Ladi, a 14- or 15-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber
was arrested at a Huwara checkpoint near Nablus
. This was the 14th time during April and May that a Palestinian child was arrested as a bomber or a courier. Two days later, another 15-year-old Palestinian teen carrying two pipe bomb
s, was caught at the same checkpoint. On June 15, The Israeli press reported that the Shabak arrested a Palestinian militant cell in Nablus during the previous month. The cell included eight members, four of whom were child suicide bombers. The cell was on the verge of committing another suicide bombing attack using the four children. According to the Shin Bet, the cell was directed and funded by the Fatah
's Tanzim
branch and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
On October 11, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy was arrested by IDF forces. He told the soldiers he was forced to agree to commit a suicide bombing when two terrorists from Fatah
's Tanzim
faction threatened to murder him by spreading a leaflet accusing him of collaboration unless he agreed. They took pictures of him with a gun and the Qur'an
and forced him to write his own will.
s on Israeli civilians across the border inside Israel.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, Palestinian militant groups have recruited minors to attack Israeli targets, both military and civilian, especially during the Second Intifada. In some cases these attacks have been suicidal in nature
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
. This deliberate involvement of children in armed conflict has been condemned by international organisations and certain Palestinian groups.
According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers is a UK-based non-governmental organization that was formed to prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children in warfare and to ensure their reintegration into larger society by means of research, advocacy, and capacity building...
"2004 Global Report on the Use of Child Soldiers", there were at least nine documented suicide attacks involving Palestinian minors between October 2000 and March 2004. According to the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
from September 2000 through 2003, 29 suicide attacks have been carried out by youth under the age of 18, 22 shootings attacks and attacks using explosive devices were carried out by youth under the age of and more than 40 youths under the age of 18 were involved in attempted suicide bombings that were thwarted.
Overview
According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child SoldiersCoalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers is a UK-based non-governmental organization that was formed to prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children in warfare and to ensure their reintegration into larger society by means of research, advocacy, and capacity building...
"2004 Global Report on the Use of Child Soldiers", there were at least nine documented suicide attacks involving Palestinian minors between October 2000 and March 2004 In 2004, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reported that "there was no evidence of systematic recruitment of children by Palestinian armed groups," also noting that this remains a small fraction of the problem in other conflict zones such as Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, where there are an estimated 20,000 children involved in active combat roles
Military use of children
The military use of children takes three distinct forms: children can take direct part in hostilities , or they can be used in support roles such as porters, spies, messengers, look outs, and sexual slaves; or they can be used for political advantage either as human shields or in...
in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
alone. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
also reported that "there was no evidence that the Palestinian Authority (PA) recruited or used child soldiers."
According to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group is a diverse human rights group founded in December 1996 by a group of prominent Palestinians, including members of the Palestinian Legislative Council ....
, in the al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
, Palestinian military folk have used children as "messengers and couriers, and in some cases as fighters and suicide bombers in attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians." Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
, Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
(PFLP) have all been implicated in involving children in this way, see Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
. The issue was first brought to world attention after a widely televised incident in which a mentally handicapped Palestinian teenager, Hussam Abdo
Hussam Abdo
Hussam Abdo was a Palestinian teenager, from the Masahiya area of Nablus, who made international headlines on 24 March 2004, when he entered the Hawara Checkpoint in the West Bank, with eight kilos of explosives strapped to his body as part of a suicide attack attempt.-The incident:Abdo, then...
, was disarmed at an Israeli checkpoint. The youngest Palestinian suicide bomber who blew himself up was Issa Bdeir, a 16-year-old high school student from the village of Al Doha. He blew himself up in a park in Rishon LeZion, killing a teenage boy and an elderly man.
Human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organizations such as Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
has strongly and repeatedly condemned violence against civilians:
Palestinian armed groups have repeatedly shown total disregard for the most fundamental human rights, notably the right to life, by deliberately targeting Israeli civilians and by using Palestinian children in armed attacks. Children are susceptible to recruitment by manipulation or may be driven to join armed groups for a variety of reasons, including a desire to avenge relatives or friends killed by the Israeli army.
Despite the harsh condemnations and internal controversy, Palestinian militant groups such as Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
and Islamic Jihad, have used children as militants and suicide bombers.
Indoctrination
According to emeritus professor of psychiatryPsychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
School of Medicine Vamik Volkan
Vamik Volkan
Vamık D. Volkan, M.D. is a Turkish-Cypriot emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Medicine...
,
Most suicide bombers in the Middle East are chosen as teenagers, “educated,” and then sent off to perform their duty when they are in their late teens or early to mid-twenties. The "education" is most effective when religious elements of the large-group identity are provided as solutions for the personal sense of helplessness, shame, and humiliation. Replacing borrowed elements sanctioned by God for one’s internal world makes that person omnipotent and
supports the individual’s narcissism.
I found that there was little difficulty in finding young men interested in becoming suicide bombers in Gaza and the West Bank. Repeated actual and expected events humiliate youngsters and interfere with their adaptive identifications with their parents because their parents are humiliated as well.
Volkan gives the examples of beatings, torture, or the loss of a parent as typical humiliating events which might make a young person more susceptible to recruitment for suicide terrorism.
Once recruited, children and teenagers are encouraged to cut off contact with "real world" affairs and subjected to an intense program of memorization and repetition of the Qur'an based more on sound than on meaning.
The typical technique of creating Middle Eastern Muslim suicide bombers includes two basic steps: first, the "teachers" find young people whose personal identity is already disturbed and who are seeking an outer "element" to internalize so they can stabilize their internal world. Second, they develop a "teaching method" that "forces" the large-group identity, ethnic and/or religious, into the "cracks" of the person’s damaged or subjugated individual identity. Once people become candidates to be suicide bombers, the routine rules and regulations, so to speak, or individual psychology does not fully apply to their patterns of thought and action.
Anne Speckhard, adjunct associate Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center and Professor of Psychology, Vesalius College, Free University of Brussels, writes:
In the Palestinian territories, there currently exists a "cult of martyrdom". From a very young age children are socialized into a group consciousness that honors "martyrs", including human bombers who have given their lives for the fight against what is perceived by Palestinians to be the unjust occupation of their lands. Young children are told stories of "martyrs". Many young people wear necklaces venerating particular "martyrs", posters decorate the walls of towns and rock and music videos extol the virtues of bombers. Each act of suicide terrorism is also marked by a last testament and video, which are prepared ahead of time by the "martyr" who can later reach great popularity when the video is played on television. Despite the very deep and real grief of the family and friends left behind, the funerals of “martyrs” are generally accompanied with much fanfare by community and sponsoring organization. Often, the effect of this is confusing to outsiders as it can disrupt, delay and even circumvent the family’s ability to focus on its grief over the loss of a family member and it may even support the family in claiming to outsiders joy over the loss of its loved one. This "cult of martyrdom", which has a strong underpinning in longstanding cultural roots (the honoring of martyrs), appears to have developed principally over the last decade, as the first act of suicide terrorism occurred in Israel only twelve years ago."
Umm Nidal
Umm Nidal
Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat , popularly known as Umm Nidal, "the mother of Nidal", is one of Hamas' candidates elected in the Palestinian legislative election, 2006...
, who sent three of her sons, including one 17 year old, on suicide attacks, said "I love my children, but as Muslims we pressure ourselves and sacrifice our emotions for the interest of the homeland. The greater interest takes precedence to the personal interest." She was later elected to the Palestinian legislature on the Hamas ticket. According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
,
Major Palestinian armed groups, including Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas, have publicly disavowed the use of children in military operations, but those stated policies have not always been implemented. Some leaders, including representatives of Islamic Jihad and Hamas, have said that they consider children of 16 to be adults. International law defines a child as any person under the age of eighteen. [...] Israeli government policy in the Occupied Territories defines Palestinians under the age of 16 as minors while Israeli children in the same territories are considered minors until they reach the age of 18.
Incidents from September 2000 through 2003
According to the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
:
- Since the beginning of violence in the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, 29 suicide attacks have been carried out by youth under the age of 18.
- Since May 2001, 22 shootings attacks and attacks using explosive devices were carried out by youth under the age of 18.
- Since the beginning of 2001, more than 40 youths under the age of 18 were involved in attempted suicide bombings that were thwarted (of them, three during 2004).
On 29 March 2002, Ayat al-Akhras
Ayat al-Akhras
Ayat al-Akhras was the third and youngest Palestinian female suicide bomber who, at age 18 , killed herself and two Israeli civilians on March 29, 2002 by detonating explosives belted to her body...
, a teenager from the Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, detonated explosives strapped around her waist in a supermarket in Jerusalem, killing herself, a 17 year-old Israeli girl named Rachel Levy
Rachel Levy
Rachel Levy was killed at age 17 on March 29, 2002 when Ayat al-Akhras, a teenage Palestinian female suicide bomber, wearing a belt of explosives around her waist, blew herself up at the entrance to a supermarket in Jerusalem's Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood on March 29, 2002...
, and a 55 year-old security guard named Haim Smadar.
"Baby Suicide Bomber" photo
During a search done on 29 June 2002, of a house belonging to a Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
militant in the town of Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, The IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
claims to have found a photo showing a 18-month infant standing wide-eyed in a baby suit, Red wires strapped to his waist, with a pretend explosives belt, and across his head tied a red bandana of Hamas.
According to BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
the baby's grandfather, Redwan Abu Turki, said that the dressing of the infant baby as a bomber was from a rally at the university and that "the picture was taken just for the fun of it".
Israeli newspapers published the photograph under headlines such as "Terror in Diapers" and "Born to Kill". Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's advisor Dore Gold
Dore Gold
Dore Gold is an Israeli statesman who has served in various diplomatic positions under several Israeli governments. He is the current President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs...
said the picture "symbolizes the hatred and incitement which the Palestinian leadership has been feeding a whole generation of Palestinian youths." At the U.S. State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher
Richard Boucher
Richard A. Boucher is Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . He took up post on 5 November 2009. Prior to joining OECD, he was the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, a post he took up on February 21, 2006...
stated that he considered the image as "a highly objectionable display."
While Palestinian officials dismissed it as a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
trick, Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
reported that a Palestinian journalist in the Hebron area said she did not believe the picture was a fake and expressed surprise at the furor it caused in Israel
Other photos of children dressed up as terrorists have been published since then.
Incidents in 2004
On March 24, 2004, one week after capturing a bomb in the bag of 12-year-old Abdullah Quran, Hussam AbdoHussam Abdo
Hussam Abdo was a Palestinian teenager, from the Masahiya area of Nablus, who made international headlines on 24 March 2004, when he entered the Hawara Checkpoint in the West Bank, with eight kilos of explosives strapped to his body as part of a suicide attack attempt.-The incident:Abdo, then...
, a 16-year-old Palestinian (who initially claimed he was 14), was captured in a checkpoint near Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
wearing an explosive belt
Explosive belt
An explosive belt is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers...
. The young boy was paid by the Tanzim
Tanzim
Tanzim is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement.-Overview:The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely considered to be an armed offshoot of Fatah with its own leadership structure...
militia to detonate himself at the checkpoint. IDF soldiers manning the checkpoint were suspicious of him and told him to stay away from people. Later, an EOD
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
team arrived and by using a police-sapper robot, removed the explosive belt from him. Hussam explained that he was offered 100 NIS and sex with virgins if he would perform the task. He said his friends mocked him in class.
On May 29, 2004, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported Israeli allegations that the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
were using children to recruit classmates as suicide bombers.
One child, Nasser Awartani, 15, of Nablus allegedly recruited four of his classmates, one of whom was claimed by the Shabak report on Awartani to be Hussam Abdo.
On June 16, 2004, two girls - aged 14 and 15 were arrested by the IDF for allegedly plotting a suicide bombing. According to an IDF statement, the two children were recruited by activists from Tanzim (Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
's armed wing), guided by Hezbollah.
On July 3, the Israeli Security Forces
Israeli Security Forces
Security forces in Israel include a variety of organizations, including law enforcement, military, paramilitary, governmental, and intelligence agencies.-Military:...
thwarted a suicide bombing which it claimed was to have been carried out by 16-year-old Muataz Takhsin Karini. Karini and two of his operators were arrested, while a 12 kg explosive belt
Explosive belt
An explosive belt is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers...
was detonated safely by an Israeli EOD
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
crew. On June 5, IDF forces detonated two explosive belts concealed in schoolbags. On July 14, the Shin Bet arrested in Kfar Maskha a suicide bomber. The bomber was identified as 17-year-old Ahmed Bushkar from Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
.
On September 23, 2004, a day before Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police
Israel Police
The Israel Police is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism...
announced their capture of a 15-year-old suicide bomber and a 7 kg explosive belt
Explosive belt
An explosive belt is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers...
in the village of Dir-Hana in the Western Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. The 15-year-old was part of joint terrorist cell of Tanzim
Tanzim
Tanzim is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement.-Overview:The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely considered to be an armed offshoot of Fatah with its own leadership structure...
and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Yamon village near Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
. The four were Palestinians who worked illegally in Israel. The 15-year-old was allegedly paid 1000 shekels in order to blow himself up in Afula
Afula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
.
According to a Shabak report published on September 26, 2004, about 292 Palestinian children have been involved in terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
.
On September 27, 2004, a 15-year-old suspected suicide bomber was arrested in Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
. On October 28, Ayub Maaruf, a 16-year-old Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
suicide bomber, was arrested near Nablus along with his operator.
On November 1, 16-year-old Aamer Alfar blew himself in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
's Carmel Market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
, killing 3 Israelis in a suicide bombing that was claimed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
. Alfar's mother and father condemned what they saw as the exploitation of their son:
"God will curse those who recruited Amar. I had heard the stories about recruiting children in Nablus but I didn't think they were true... Yes, it is difficult here for everyone because of the occupation, and life in Nablus is intolerable, but children should not be exploited in this way."
On November 4, a 15-year-old suicide bomber was arrested in Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
.
Incidents in 2005
On February 3, Mahmoud Tabouq, a 15- or 16-year-old Palestinian, was arrested at the Huwara checkpoint near NablusNablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
carrying a bag containing an explosive belt
Explosive belt
An explosive belt is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers...
, an improvised gun, and 20 bullets. The belt was detonated safely by a Magav
Israel Border Police
The Israel Border Police is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav , meaning border guard, whilst its members are colloquially known as Magavnikim . Border Guard is often used as the official name of the...
bomb squad
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
.
On April 12, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy identified as Hassan Hashash was caught at Huwara checkpoint hiding five pipe bomb
Pipe bomb
A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially...
s under his coat. He tried to ignite them with a match when the soldiers apprehended him. Later he was disarmed, and sapper
Sapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
s detonated the bombs safely. Family members of Hashash suggested that he deliberately carried bombs into an IDF checkpoint in order to be arrested and study for the "Bagrut" final exams in the Israeli jail. A week later, another Palestinian youth (aged 17) was caught carrying explosives in Beit Furik
Beit Furik
Beit Furik is a Palestinian town located nine kilometers southeast of Nablus, in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 10,339 inhabitants in 2007. During the 19th century and mid-20th century, Beit...
checkpoint.
On April 27, two Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
teenagers, both aged 15 (though other sources cite their ages as 12 and 13), were arrested at a checkpoint near Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
after 11 explosive charges
Explosive material
An explosive material, also called an explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure...
were found on them. One teenager was recruited by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the other by the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
. The two told interrogators that they had been acting as couriers for terrorists, but security forces suspect they planned to get close to the soldiers and then detonate the charges.
On May 22, Iad Ladi, a 14- or 15-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
was arrested at a Huwara checkpoint near Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
. This was the 14th time during April and May that a Palestinian child was arrested as a bomber or a courier. Two days later, another 15-year-old Palestinian teen carrying two pipe bomb
Pipe bomb
A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially...
s, was caught at the same checkpoint. On June 15, The Israeli press reported that the Shabak arrested a Palestinian militant cell in Nablus during the previous month. The cell included eight members, four of whom were child suicide bombers. The cell was on the verge of committing another suicide bombing attack using the four children. According to the Shin Bet, the cell was directed and funded by the Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
's Tanzim
Tanzim
Tanzim is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement.-Overview:The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely considered to be an armed offshoot of Fatah with its own leadership structure...
branch and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
On October 11, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy was arrested by IDF forces. He told the soldiers he was forced to agree to commit a suicide bombing when two terrorists from Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
's Tanzim
Tanzim
Tanzim is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement.-Overview:The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely considered to be an armed offshoot of Fatah with its own leadership structure...
faction threatened to murder him by spreading a leaflet accusing him of collaboration unless he agreed. They took pictures of him with a gun and the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and forced him to write his own will.
Incidents in 2007
On August 27, a 15 year-old Palestinian boy carrying two explosive devices on his body, was arrested in the northern Gaza Strip after he attempted to carry out an attack against soldiers operating in the area against Palestinians launching Qassam rocketQassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
s on Israeli civilians across the border inside Israel.
See also
- List of Palestinian militant groups suicide attacks
- The Making of a MartyrThe Making of A MartyrThe Making of a Martyr is a 2006 film made by Canadian directors Brooke Goldstein and Alistair Leyland.-Story:On March 25, 2004, Sixteen year old Hussam Abdo, was apprehended at an Israeli border checkpoint with live explosives strapped around his waist. Yet, he was noticed running towards the...
- Female suicide bomberFemale suicide bomberThough the majority of suicide bombers have been male, female suicide bombers have carried out a number of attacks.-History:Female suicide bombers have been employed in several conflicts, by a variety of organizations, against both military and civilian targets.*In Lebanon on April 9, 1985, Sana'a...
- Military use of childrenMilitary use of childrenThe military use of children takes three distinct forms: children can take direct part in hostilities , or they can be used in support roles such as porters, spies, messengers, look outs, and sexual slaves; or they can be used for political advantage either as human shields or in...
- Palestinian political violencePalestinian political violencePalestinian political violence refers to acts of violence undertaken to further the Palestinian cause. These political objectives include self-determination in and sovereignty over Palestine, the liberation of Palestine and establishment of a Palestinian state, either in place of both Israel and...
- Human rights in the Palestinian National AuthorityHuman rights in the Palestinian National AuthorityHuman rights in the Palestinian National Authority refers to the human rights record of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza. Since Israel's implementation of its unilateral disengagement plan in 2005 and the evacuation of all Jewish settlements from Gaza Strip, the Palestinian...
Further reading
- Landau, Elaine (2007): Suicide Bombers: Foot Soldiers of the Terrorist Movement. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 076133470X
- Greenberger, Robert (2007): Suicide Bombers. The Rosen Publishing Group
- Bloom, Mia (2005): Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror. NY: Columbia University Press.
- Carpenter, Charli R. (2006): Innocent Women And Children: Gender, Norms and the Protection of Civilians. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0754647455
- Charny, Israel W. (2006): Fighting Suicide Bombing: A Worldwide Campaign for Life. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0275993361
External links
- Children's Rights Institute
- Suicide Bombers by Vamik D. Volkan of Virginia UniversityVirginia UniversityVirginia University could refer to one of several universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state in the southern United States:* Virginia University of Lynchburg, a historically black university in Lynchburg...
. - School trains suicide bombers By Jeremy Cooke in Gaza. BBC. 18 July 2001
- Why a Palestinian girl now wants to be a suicide bomber by Cameron W. Barr. The Christian Science Monitor. April 1, 2002
- The Recruitment of Children in Current Palestinian Strategy by Justus WeinerJustus WeinerJustus Reid Weiner is an Israeli-American lawyer at the firm of Geraldson, Marks and Xeno in Jerusalem and scholar. He is a UC Berkeley law school graduate, a Boston native, and a member of the Israel and New York Bar Associations. According to an interview by Salon books, Weiner worked at the...
. Institute for Contemporary Affairs. Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsJerusalem Center for Public AffairsThe Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel... - Becoming a child suicide bomber. Video Journalism Movement. Ayesha Akram