'Would I have sent my son to his death?'

The family of the 15-year-old boy who was arrested last week by IDF soldiers when he tried to carry out an attack at the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus has condemned those who sent him as "criminals."

Mohammed al-Nadi, a ninth grader from Askar refugee camp near Nablus, was carrying pipe bombs and a lighter when he approached the soldiers at the checkpoint.

The IDF and the family have accused Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, of dispatching the boy on a suicide mission. However, Mohammed Subuh, a senior official with the Palestinian Authority's Information Minister, claimed that Israel was behind the incident, staging the near-attack in attempt to undermine PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas's talks with US President George W. Bush.

This is the fifteenth incident in the past two months in which Palestinian youths under the age of 18 have attempted to detonate explosive devices at checkpoints or smuggle weapons via the crossings.

Leaders of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus have denied that the group was using minors for launching attacks on the IDF. But several sources in the city, including the boy's family and PA security officials, insist that the group was behind the botched attack.

They said members of the group in Balta refugee camp, which is also in the Nablus area, had recruited Mohammed after persuading him that he would be rewarded in heaven for killing Jews. They also promised to support his family after he becomes a shahid (martyr).

The boy's grandmother, Aziza, said the family was very angry with those who sent Mohammed to attack the soldiers. "They have no fear of God," she said. "They let us suffer because of our children, they don't respect God; they don't have a conscience. I hope that God will punish them because they are sending children this age, God will punish them. I'm suffering pain every day, crying every night before going to sleep. God knows how many tears there are on my pillow every night."

The father, Mustafa, who sells vegetables in the open market, said he had no idea that his son had been recruited to launch an attack on IDF soldiers. "I didn't have any idea," he said. "He was going to school, coming back home, doing his homework and going outside to play with kids half an hour and coming back home."

He expressed hope that the IDF would release Mohammed. "I hope that he will come back home," he added. "He's a child; he can't differentiate between good and bad. And he and others like him were brainwashed. I don't know what they were promising them or telling them - they didn't know what they were going to do and this is what happened with him."

Mustafa denounced his son's dispatchers as "spies and collaborators." He said he supported the truce and was strongly opposed to the resumption of terror attacks on Israel. "It's not a nationalistic action," he said, referring to his son's plan. "There is truce agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and no one is doing anything. There is a ceasefire between both sides, so I think those who sent him are collaborators. Maybe it's for some sort of personal benefit which they got from these actions. I hope God will punish them."

The father said he went to Balata camp last week to inquire about those who sent his son. There, he said, the Fatah gunmen denied involvement in the case.

His wife, Dalal, was far more critical of the dispatchers. "They are criminals," she complained. "They are not human beings. This is a crime - they have no feeling, no religion. They don't fear God. He's just a child. If he was a child from a rich family they would not have sent him there. But because he is poor and he's from the refugee camp they play with his head. I hope that God will avenge this."

The mother said that if she had known about her Mohammed's scheme she would have stopped him. "He's like any Palestinian child – he loves his homeland and wants to be a martyr," she said. "But if he would have told me that he was going to do that I would have prevented him. Would I have sent my son to his death?"

Dalal thanked God that her son was arrested and is still alive. "I thank God many times that he was arrested and he's not dead," she added. "The one who sent him is not a young boy. I'm sure he's an adult. It's impossible a child will give him the bomb and send him there. The one who sent him is an adult and he probably has children - why did he not send his own children? His children are dear to him, but other people's children don't matter."

Her advice to Mohammed, who is being held at an IDF facility in the West Bank, is to tell his interrogators everything he knows. "I'm telling my son - depend on God and confess - say everything about him, give information, tell them who is the one who sent you," she said. "They put you in this problem and they abandoned you - no one is going to care about you anymore. "All of them deny that they sent you. They left you to face the charges by yourself. My boy, please say everything, tell them who sent you."

The mother also appealed to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to make an effort to stop the terror groups from exploiting children. "I'm addressing Abu Mazen (Abbas) directly to save these young children from the hands of the criminals who are sending them," she said.

"They are depriving parents of their children and they are stopping the peace process and destroying everything. Each time there is hope they are sending children to destroy everything. I want him to investigate how these people are sending these children.

"They are sending our children without taking into account what the mothers have inside their hearts - fires are burning in their hearts. They are sending them as patriots but this is not patriotism."

Naser Abu Aziz and Ala Sanakrah, leaders of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in the city, said the group issued a leaflet denying any connection to the case. "We distributed leaflets in the Nablus area and sent copies to Mahmoud Abbas's office in which we said that the group that sent Mohammed does not belong to the Aksa Martyrs Brigades," they said.

"We have launched an investigation and if it is proven that they do belong to our group we will fire them and announce their names and hand them over to the Palestinian security forces."

"Her advice to Mohammed, who is being held at an IDF facility in the West Bank, is to tell his interrogators everything he knows."

Why not fink on those louses? Those who sent him to die never anticipated that he (a 15 year old) would survive to tell tales. Truly scum.

God knows I was paranoid about my son at 15 years actually driving a car. Suicde bombers for the cause. God may forgive them, I find that to be a challenging notion.

"He's like any Palestinian child – he loves his homeland and wants to be a martyr,... Would I have sent my son to his death?"

I'll take "Duh" for $200, Alex.

"If he was a child from a rich family they would not have sent him there."

TRUE!

"The one who sent him is an adult and probably has children - why did he not send his own children?"

BINGO!

"The one who sent him is not a young boy. I'm sure he's an adult. It's impossible a child will give him the bomb and send him there. The one who sent him is an adult and he probably has children - why did he not send his own children? His children are dear to him, but other people's children don't matter."

Ya think?????

If this is the intelligence level of the people Israel is dealing with .... well, whatever. Nuke em'.

For an Arab female to say such things in public means she is taking quite a risk of retaliation by the Sand Savages who fast-talked her son into that abortive bombing attempt.

Give her the credit she is due.

Then bomb those areas where there are only Sand Savages and their supporters.

So sad. Glad the parents are finally starting to speak out.

This is one of the benefits of the departure of the late, and largely unlamented by any sane person, Yessir Fathead. While he ruled the roost, parents dared not speak out, or they themselves would be marked, and killed as collaborators...

the infowarrior

This is one of the benefits of the departure ...

Yep. Let's hope we continue to see more and more benefits of that departure. We must be patient as it will take a very long time to overcome the years of tyranny.

It is certainly unusual to hear of Palestinian families crying about their teen-age children's attempts to kill Israelis. We've all read the accounts of Palestinians mothers rejoicing in their offspring's successful 'martyrdom'. But the sad thing is that this mother's objection seems to be that it was HER son that was proselyted. Any other Palestinian boy would be all right.

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