Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Palestinians Outraged by Recruiting of Children for Attacks on Israelies
AP ^ | 02/29/04 | Ali Daraghmeh

Posted on 02/29/2004 11:48:38 AM PST by Kieri

Palestinians Outraged by Recruiting of Children for Attacks Against Israelis

By Ali Daraghmeh Associated Press Writer Published: Feb 29, 2004

NABLUS - West Bank (AP) - They were young, perhaps the youngest ever to try an armed attack against Israelis, and they were ready to die. The arrest of three boys ages 12, 13 and 15, accused of trying to slip into Israel with homemade guns, sparked horror among their families and concern by Palestinian officials that militant groups have gone too far in their choice of recruits.

"That's absolutely unacceptable," said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat. "Our children should have hope and a future and should not be suicide bombers. We want them to be doctors and engineers."

Israeli forces arrested the three Palestinian youths from the village of Tubas, near Nablus, on Thursday as they tried to cross a checkpoint, Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman said.

The boys said they planned to shoot people in the northern Israeli city of Afula, he said.

The army said it was still investigating the case and had not decided whether to charge the boys.

Palestinians have carried out thousands of attacks against Israelis during 41 months of violence, killing 930 people, while 2,688 have been killed on the Palestinian side, almost all in Israeli military strikes.

The boys, Jaffar Dababaat, 12, Tarek Abu Mahsen, 13, and Ibrahim Suafta, 15, left behind a letter saying they wanted to strike a blow against the barrier Israel is building in the West Bank. The note identified Tarek as a member of Islamic Jihad and the other two as members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant group linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

"If we die, if we become martyrs, don't feel sorry for us. Just have a massive protest in our honor and distribute sweets to everyone," the letter said.

Tarek's parents were outraged and criticized Islamic Jihad for recruiting youngsters for an attack that would likely lead to their deaths.

"My son doesn't know how to write such a letter and never belonged to any groups. Someone older wrote this letter for him," said his mother, Amira Abu Mahsen.

"If it is proved that someone in specific sent them on this mission, I will make sure they are punished. They shouldn't send my young boy on such missions," said his father, Mohammed Abu Mahsen.

An Al Aqsa official who declined to be named strenuously denied the group had sent the boys. "This is impossible. I don't know where these kids came from," he said. Islamic Jihad spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

Criticism of attacks on Israelis is rare among Palestinians, but in recent months more people have been condemning the recruiting methods used by the militant groups.

In January, Hamas sent a mother of two young children as a suicide bomber to attack a crossing point between Gaza and Israel. Days earlier a 17-year-old bomber died when his bomb belt exploded prematurely, a week after his 15-year-old brother, Amjad, and a cousin were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

But the ages of the Tubas youths was especially shocking for many.

Neither police nor the army knew if the would-be attackers were the youngest sent against Israel, but most militants are in their late teens or early 20s.

The three boys "don't have enough life experience to make such decisions," said Hafez Barghouti, editor of the Palestinian daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida.

Barghouti said the use of youngsters to carry out attacks was on the rise, though he declined to speculate why. Others have said that as Israel has become more adept at stopping attacks, the militant groups have been forced to turn to people less likely to arouse suspicion.

The boys' parents found it hard to reconcile their image of their children with that of militants.

Amira Abu Mahsen said Tarek learned to love motorcycles from his father, a mechanic. He also kept birds as pets. "They were his greatest joy," she said.

His father recalled that a neighbor had told him that two strange men were looking for the boy about a week ago. Relatives said they were stunned to find out the boys had been arrested.

"We never thought he was ever involved in politics," said Jafar's father, Hussein Dababaat, before he burst into tears.

"I lost my son," he said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Israel
KEYWORDS: zionist
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-43 next last
Arafat and his butchers have been sowing for 30 years. Looks like they're about to reap it in.
1 posted on 02/29/2004 11:48:39 AM PST by Kieri
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kieri
Outraged, my butt! These kids were just a couple of years away from the ordinary age for suicide bombers, so what's the difference?

One things for sure, the old guys with the power never strap on the explosives, do they?

2 posted on 02/29/2004 11:54:19 AM PST by prion
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
>"That's absolutely unacceptable," said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat. "Our children should have hope and a future and should not be suicide bombers. We want them to be doctors and engineers."

Then why do you train them to be suicide bombers?

Palestinian Child Abuse slideshow
www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pal-child-abuse/index.php

3 posted on 02/29/2004 11:57:46 AM PST by Dialup Llama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
"I lost my son," he said.
If only he had more sons to give for the cause.
4 posted on 02/29/2004 11:58:13 AM PST by Asclepius (karma vigilante)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
The pali movement embodies the scum of the earth.

They will pay dearly in the end. I sure wouldn't want to be in their sandals come judgment day.
5 posted on 02/29/2004 12:01:09 PM PST by Bullish
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: prion
The Arab monkeys are getting some synapse activity in that small particle of humanity lodged in the tiny corner of their 5th century "brains".....
6 posted on 02/29/2004 12:01:45 PM PST by zarf (..where lieth those little things with the sort of raffia work base that has an attachment?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Alouette; Salem; SJackson
When the Palis are as concerned about the Israeli children - and men and women - that they murder, perhaps I'll shed a tear.
7 posted on 02/29/2004 12:03:01 PM PST by Slings and Arrows (Am Yisrael Chai!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
"That's absolutely unacceptable," said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat. "Our children should have hope and a future and should not be suicide bombers.

Well, then, do something about it Habibi...they're YOUR chirrens after all...

8 posted on 02/29/2004 12:04:03 PM PST by ErnBatavia (Gay marriage is for suckers...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
HUH? This article reads like it's from some parallel universe. Suddenly the Palis are outraged over the jihad? What?

Strange.
9 posted on 02/29/2004 12:04:16 PM PST by EggsAckley
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
"Palestinians Outraged by Recruiting of Children for Attacks Against Israelis"


Uh, which Palestinians would that be?

Haven't heard of a faction with that belief before.
10 posted on 02/29/2004 12:07:28 PM PST by EEDUDE (Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
Palestinians Outraged by Recruiting of Children for Attacks Against Israelis

Yeah, sure they are. Until I see massive demonstrations by the "palestinians" against-

1.Terrorism

2.Arafat

3.And the hostility toward Israel

I will label them all murdering savages..

11 posted on 02/29/2004 12:07:52 PM PST by cardinal4 (Terrence Maculiffe-Ariolimax columbianus (hint- its a gastropod.....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
"That's absolutely unacceptable," said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat. "Our children should have hope and a future and should not be suicide bombers. We want them to be doctors and engineers."

Do the words, "piece of sh-t" have any particular meaning here?  Ahhhh, YES!!!

The PLO leadership (and let's be clear, this is what we're talking about in reality) hasn't given a damn that unemployment as gone from 30% to 70% in the last three years on the West Bank.  I wonder if that was good for the children this letch cares so much about.

If he truly wants them to be doctors and engineers, then stop teaching them to be terrorists in West Bank schools.  Stop teaching them to hate as part of the curriculum.

The Nation of Palestine could have been a reality some 57 years ago.  I'm sure 57 years worth of children have been blessed by the PLO and it's fellow travelers.

These idiots make me sick to my stomach.

12 posted on 02/29/2004 12:10:46 PM PST by DoughtyOne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
"We want them to become doctors and engineers."
These people neither believe in medicine or engineering. Just hate.
13 posted on 02/29/2004 12:14:05 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EggsAckley
Suddenly the Palis are outraged over the jihad?

Perhaps they've finally realized they are running out of sons...

14 posted on 02/29/2004 12:16:04 PM PST by Fenris6
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
"the parents were outraged"

Perhaps they should be running more "Do you know where your children are?" commercials. It sounds that parenting and values are being neglected not only in the U.S. Children model their parents whether parents like to admit it or not.
15 posted on 02/29/2004 12:17:10 PM PST by freeangel (freeangel)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks
Sure they want them to be "engineers". The kind that make bombs.
16 posted on 02/29/2004 12:20:12 PM PST by stumpy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: 1bigdictator; 1st-P-In-The-Pod; 2sheep; a_witness; adam_az; af_vet_rr; agrace; ...
The only thing they were outraged about was that these kids did not succeed.

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel ping list.

WARNING: This is a high volume ping list

17 posted on 02/29/2004 12:24:04 PM PST by Alouette (Mitul d'min kadam Shemayo malchusa v'shalim b'ammaya)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
Vermin. Scum.

Destroy their leaders.
18 posted on 02/29/2004 12:25:42 PM PST by Stallone (Guess who Al Qaeda wants to be President?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Asclepius
"I lost my son, he said.

If only he had more sons to give for the cause. "

guess he's already spent the $24,000....drugs, alcohol, women, n lottery tickets; $$$ goes fast these days;
if only he had a few more sons, to take care of him in his old age...

19 posted on 02/29/2004 12:35:33 PM PST by hoot2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Kieri
Maybe these concerned parents should homeschool their kids and ban TV. The PA textbooks and Arab TV are chock full of hatred towards the Jews, deny Israel's right to exist, and glorify suicide bombers who kill Israeli civilians as martyrs. I thought a poll claimed that a great majority of Palestinians support suicide bombing.

If these parents are truly sincere in that they don't want to practice "child sacrifice," they and their children will probably be made targets of derision (and violence) by their more blood-thirsty brothers and sisters.
20 posted on 02/29/2004 12:50:29 PM PST by demnomo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-43 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson