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Relatives and Neighbors Proud of Suicide Bomber
The New York Times ^ | 4/1/2002 | Joel Brinkley

Posted on 03/31/2002 6:46:04 PM PST by l33t

TULKARM, West Bank, March 31 — An unbroken string of Israeli Merkava tanks this afternoon rolled up the hill toward this Palestinian city, home to the man who blew himself up Wednesday night at a Passover celebration, killing 22 people and leading to the storming of Yasir Arafat's compound by the Israeli Army.

At his family's home in a prosperous part of town, the suicide bomber's father, brother, uncle and other relatives sat at a wake, receiving congratulations from friends and neighbors — even now, four days after the death of the bomber, Abdel-Basset Odeh.

"Everyone's proud of him," said his older brother, Issam Odeh, 35. "This is a war. Yes, he's the one who changed everything."

Across town, Hasan Khreisheh, Tulkarm's representative in the Palestinian legislature, was waiting, like everyone in town, for the Israelis to attack. When he heard on the news that the bomber was a local resident, he said, he knew that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would send in the army.

But as a politician, Mr. Khreisheh was also thinking about another subject. He was wondering, he said, who would be the next Palestinian president if Yasir Arafat, under siege in Ramallah, was forced out of the country or killed. Yes, he said with a smile, "everything is changing."

Everyone here sees an Israeli attack as inevitable, but no one seems especially concerned. It is just the way of life here now. Late tonight dozens of Israeli tanks rolled into Qalqilya, just south of Tulkarm. "We do to them what they do to us," said Muhammad Odeh, 64, the bomber's father. "If they kill us, we kill them the day after. It will never stop."

At Al Shifa pharmacy, just off the town square, the pharmacist, Bassam Yousef, 52, said he would take some particularly useful medicines home with him tonight, just as he did the last time Israel attacked.

Leaning on the pharmacy counter, the town's criminal court judge, Rasam al-Saad, said the two peoples were caught "in an endless cycle of violence." On the television behind them an Arab station was reporting another suicide bombing, in Haifa. Fifteen people including the bomber were reported dead.

"I think it's wonderful," said the judge, who tries killers, thieves and people who pass bad checks. "Every time there is an action there's a reaction."

The Odeh family expects the Israelis to demolish its house as soon as the soldiers reach town, as is the army's frequent practice with homes of people who carry out attacks. Forty relatives live in a complex of interwoven apartments, but no one is moving out.

Posters celebrating Abdel-Basset Odeh's deed hang proudly from the living room wall. They show the 23-year-old posing in his pre-death photo with a Kalashnikov rifle resting on his shoulder, a green bow for the militant group Hamas tied to the barrel. His face is calm, determined.

A photo in the bottom corner shows rescue workers pulling bodies out of the hotel in Netanya where he blew himself up.

"We will stay here in the house, and they can come if they want," said his father, a prosperous vegetable wholesaler. A large green Hamas flag flutters from the front stoop. "There is no god but Allah," it says in Arabic.

No one in the family knew that Abdel-Basset planned to blow himself up, they said, and now that he is dead, none of them know why he did it. "He had his reasons" was all his father would say. When asked what those reasons might be, every member of his family filled in this blank with what appeared to be his own most galling grievance.

"He didn't like dealing with the soldiers at the checkpoint," said his uncle.

Not long ago, Abdel-Basset Odeh wanted to move to the United States, his family said, to take any job he could get. But he could not get a visa. More recently he worked in his father's vegetable business.

A friend, Feras Kassam, an unemployed electrician, said: "If you don't choose your type of death yourself, Sharon will do it for you. All of Tulkarm is proud." Mr. Khreisheh, the legislator, said: "None of us wants to kill civilians, but we are obliged to defend ourselves. We have nothing else with which to fight this huge machine of Israel's. They have everything; they have all the power. We have nothing but our bodies."


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Israel
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 03/31/2002 6:46:04 PM PST by l33t
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To: l33t
Typical New York Slime slant. Terrorist propaganda disgised as news.
2 posted on 03/31/2002 7:02:31 PM PST by Navy Patriot
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To: l33t
How nice of the journalist to provide the names of the people who need to have their houses bulldozed.
3 posted on 03/31/2002 7:03:23 PM PST by cookcounty
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To: l33t
Whew! Too bad he couldn't get visa to come here and blow himself and others up. These families are receiving thousands of $$$ from other groups in Iran, Syria, etc. to do this. It wouldn't surprise me to see idiots having babies just to strap bombs on them for bucks.
4 posted on 03/31/2002 7:07:49 PM PST by whadizit
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To: l33t
"Everyone's proud of him," said his older brother, Issam Odeh, 35. "This is a war. Yes, he's the one who changed everything."

Provoking war that will drawn in stronger nations to destroy Israel for them, is the whole point of suicide bombings.

5 posted on 03/31/2002 7:12:49 PM PST by SarahW
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To: l33t
years ago, when Americans continually went missing in Lebanon, either murdered or kidnapped, it was asked why similar things never happened to Soviets. The answer was that the KGB had shown that they would find and eliminate any family member of any known perpetrator. The esteem in which these assassins are held (Brit Hume noted that their survivors are sent letters by Arafat, welcomed to Mecca by the Saudis, and sent checks by Sadaam) invites the same response. It can only save lives.
6 posted on 03/31/2002 7:20:18 PM PST by gusopol3
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To: Navy Patriot
Actually, while the Times dishes out mostly pro pali propaganda, personally this article doesn't strike me as too laudatory of the pali's. Reading this they sort of sound like nuts to me. Smiling and laughing over killing people, having so much pride in causing death. When they say it will never end, it is such a stark warning of what they are.

Thank God that nut didn't end up here. I wonder why they denied him his visa, they seem to have let everyone else in...

7 posted on 03/31/2002 7:45:55 PM PST by I still care
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Comment #8 Removed by Moderator

To: l33t
Not long ago, Abdel-Basset Odeh wanted to move to the United States, his family said, to take any job he could get. But he could not get a visa. More recently he worked in his father's vegetable business.

Well I must say I am shocked that he was denied a visa, but grateful nonetheless. These people are uncivilized barbarians!

9 posted on 03/31/2002 7:54:45 PM PST by ladyinred
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To: l33t
I'd be proud of the Israeli government if they stopped stonewalling and arrested that sorry excuse for a human being Arafat and then unleash on him.
10 posted on 03/31/2002 8:25:50 PM PST by MoJo2001
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To: l33t
Not long ago, Abdel-Basset Odeh wanted to move to the United States, his family said, to take any job he could get.

Now that is frightening. How many of these potential suicide bombers are there in the US?
I have a bad feeling about the Salute to Israel Parade in NYC next month.

11 posted on 03/31/2002 10:11:20 PM PST by rmlew
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To: l33t
Ought to take out the terrorists family. Their mothers fathers sisters brothers and even their dogs. 9MM to the temple and then let them rot where they fall. cover them with pig guts. Maybe then they will think twice before they blow up innocents.
12 posted on 04/01/2002 12:24:06 AM PST by Joe Boucher
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To: cookcounty
Rather than a "regular" bulldozer, I recommend a full load of 500 lb bombs on an F-16 on the house. Might cause some of the "neighbors" who are "congratulating" this family of fools to have a "little heartburn", and not consider them as "good" neighbors to have.
13 posted on 04/01/2002 12:53:01 AM PST by stumpy
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To: l33t
Not long ago, Abdel-Basset Odeh wanted to move to the United States, his family said, to take any job he could get. But he could not get a visa.

I don't want that kind of trash in my country.

14 posted on 04/01/2002 12:59:27 AM PST by grimalkin
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