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On the evening of May 22, 2005, IDF soldiers at the Hawarah checkpoint (south of Nablus ) foiled an attempted terrorist attack by a 15-year old boy. |
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Muhammad Mustafa Muhammad al-Nadi was born in April 1990 and lives in the Askar refugee camp near Nablus . He aroused the suspicions of one of the IDF officers at the checkpoint and was asked to pull up his shirt. He complied, revealing two pipe charges 1 1” in diameter and 6” in length (15 cm) on his belt . The charges held homemade explosives and had ordinary fuses . In his pocket was a cigarette lighter. He was apparently supposed to use it to light the fuses and blow himself up in a suicide bombing attack at the checkpoint. 1 |
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So far it is unknown which organization sent the boy on a mission which would have resulted in his death. It should be remembered that in similar instances in the past, Fatah / Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades terrorists in Nablus were behind sending teenagers out on such missions. In addition, the boy's father, Ahmad al-Nadi, told an AP reporter that his son had recently begun seen in the company of armed Fatah / Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades terrorists, and that he suspected they were the ones who had sent him on the mission that would have resulted in his death ( AP , May 22, 2005). The Fatah / Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades spokesman in Nablus condemned the sending of teenagers on suicide bombing missions and denied that the organization had any involvement in the incident ( Reuters , Nablus , May 22, 2005). |
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It should be noted that since the beginning of the year, the Israeli security forces have detained about 50 youths under the age of 18 who were involved in terrorist activity. During the past two months it was the 14 th instance in which such youths were involved in attempts to detonate charges or to smuggle bombs and weapons through IDF checkpoints in the West Bank . The attempts were foiled by Israeli soldiers (Information courtesy of the IDF spokesperson). |
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The various terrorist organizations' use of teenagers to perpetrate attacks or abet terrorism-supporting activities has been common during the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. Since the confrontation began youngsters who have assimilated anti-Israel hate propaganda have been enlisted to perpetrate attacks, including suicide bombing attacks, and to participate in violent actions and activities supporting terrorism (participating in violent demonstrations, collecting information, digging tunnels). In the past exploiting teenagers for such missions has been severely criticized by both the Palestinian population and the Palestinian Authority. However during the violent confrontation as well as during the lull , the Palestinian Authority has not taken effective steps to eradicate the cynical use of teenagers in perpetrating terrorist attacks, including suicide bombing attacks. The most recent incident in Nablus makes that painfully clear. 2 |
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