Posted on 03/30/2004 11:13:50 AM PST by yonif
Palestinian terrorists tried to recruit a 15-year-old as a suicide bomber, at one point locking him in a dark room, but also luring him with clothes, a cell phone and promises of paradise, his family said Tuesday.
The story of ninth-grader Tamer Khweirah, who was extricated by an alert older brother, underscored the growing use of children by militant groups and stoked Palestinian debate over what is permissible in the fight with Israel.
Tamer is one of four teens arrested by the Israeli military in the West Bank city of Nablus in the past week on suspicion they were recruited by militants. One of the four, Hussam Abdo, 16, was caught at an Israeli checkpoint south of Nablus last week with eight kilograms (18 pounds) of explosives strapped to his body.
The boys knew each other, relatives said. Tamer, Hussam and a third youngster attended the same Nablus high school.
The Israeli military said Palestinian militants are increasingly targeting youngsters, in part because they arouse less suspicion at Israeli checkpoints.
The use of youngsters has drawn criticism also from some Palestinian intellectuals and educators, who said the militants are harming the Palestinian cause.
The Al-Ayyam daily, which often reflects the views of the Palestinian Authority, on Tuesday ran a story on Tamer, including his parents' demand that the recruiters be prosecuted. The article was a rare sign of public criticism of the militants.
However, Palestinian security officials said their forces have become so ineffective, largely due to Israeli restrictions, that they cannot rein in the militants.
Tamer was approached by the Islamic Jihad group at a Nablus mosque last week, after Israel assassinated Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, said the boy's oldest brother, Raed, 26, to whom Tamer confessed his subsequent secret encounters.
In the mosque, Tamer and other worshippers were expressing their anger over the assassination, and a 19-year-old Islamic Jihad activist asked the youth whether he wanted to meet a religious leader, or sheik, from the group, Raed Khweirah said.
Tamer was taken to a private home in Nablus' old city, a militant stronghold, where he met the sheik, who introduced himself only as Ibrahim, Khweirah said. In the first session, the sheik spoke to Tamer about the need to avenge Yassin.
In a second encounter last week, the sheik tried to persuade Tamer to carry out a suicide bombing, according to the boy's older brother. The sheik locked Tamer in a dark room for a while, then took him to a well-lit room, explaining to the boy that this illustrated the difference between eternal damnation and paradise.
Paradise and 72 virgins are assured for any bomber, the sheik told Tamer, who is from a well-to-do family and according to his family had a sheltered upbringing.
When the youngster expressed concern that his family's house would be demolished - standard Israeli reprisal - the sheik said Islamic Jihad would pay 50,000 Jordanian dinar (US$ 35,000) to make up for the loss.
When the boy protested that he'd like to be around for the weddings of his two sisters in the summer, the sheik told him that "you will go to paradise and meet them there," according to the older brother.
Islamic Jihad members gave Tamer a cell phone to enable constant contact, and bought him a new shirt and pants as a purported sign of affection, his brother said.
Khweirah said he became concerned about his younger brother, described as a model student, when he skipped school twice last week and was seen loitering downtown, smoking and talking on a cellphone.
Khweirah said that last Thursday, he turned for help to the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed group with ties to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
Al Aqsa itself has carried out suicide bombings, and its militants say they have no qualms about recruiting teens, provided they are mature enough to understand their suicidal mission. Still, Khweirah hoped they would agree that his brother was not an appropriate candidate.
Later that day, a tearful Tamer returned home and confessed to his family, his brother said.
Hashem Abu Hamdan, an Al Aqsa leader in Nablus wanted by Israel, said he was personally involved in getting Tamer back home safely but gave no further details.
Abu Hamdan denied Al Aqsa dispatched Hussam Abdo, last week's would-be roadblock bomber, saying Hussam and his friends had taken the initiative. "They were looking for an explosives belt, and they could find it easily in Nablus," Abu Hamdan said in a telephone interview.
But the Israeli military said the militants are increasingly preying on the young.
"We've seen the accelerated efforts of this consortium of terror from Nablus to dispatch young children and turn them into human bombs," said Maj. Sharon Feingold, an army spokeswoman.
Tamer was arrested by Israeli soldiers at his home on Friday, the last of a group of four teens to be taken into custody. Feingold said the youngsters are still being questioned by the Shin Bet security service, which turned down requests by The Associated Press to interview Tamer.
The boy's family demanded that the Islamic Jihad recruiters be arrested, but so far to no avail. Talal Dweikat, the Palestinian intelligence chief in Nablus, said his forces are too weak to confront the militants.
Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said it is unfair to generalize, arguing that there had been only isolated attempts to recruit youngsters. She said Palestinian society, which has supported suicide bombings to a large degree, would have to do some soul-searching, but that the causes of despair - Israel's occupation and military strikes - must not be overlooked.
"It's horrifying, because we are paying the price as a nation," she said.
Paradise and 72 virgins are assured for any bomber, the sheik told Tamer, who is from a well-to-do family and according to his family had a sheltered upbringing.
When the youngster expressed concern that his family's house would be demolished - standard Israeli reprisal - the sheik said Islamic Jihad would pay 50,000 Jordanian dinar (US$ 35,000) to make up for the loss.
When the boy protested that he'd like to be around for the weddings of his two sisters in the summer, the sheik told him that "you will go to paradise and meet them there," according to the older brother.
Islamic Jihad members gave Tamer a cell phone to enable constant contact, and bought him a new shirt and pants as a purported sign of affection, his brother said.
Why would anyone want to give them a state? Why would anyone want to continue to give them financial aid?
Both she and Yasser need a visit from the helicopters.
Is this promise suppose to be in their "bible?"
When the boy protested that he'd like to be around for the weddings of his two sisters in the summer, the sheik told him that "you will go to paradise and meet them there," according to the older brother.
And, does this mean that his sisters will be killed in order for him to see them in paradise?
Orwellian. This ugly vindictive woman is a master spinner and teller of Lies. These people are psychopathic. They find telling a lie easier than truth.
But then again she used to be a buddy of Geraldo Rivera.
Makes sense then, I mean anybody stupid enough to kill themselves as a bomb is stupid enough to not be able to arrest themselves. You gotta have an IQ 2 to not be able to find a terrorist to arrest when you are one, then blame that on the Jews.
Pelestinian intellectuals: A self-cancelling term if ever I heard one.
Palestinian educators: As Mr. Silverback likes to point out, Palestinian education consists of "The red wire must never shake hands with the green wire...".
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