Schoolboy suicide attacks bring more pain to Palestinians

GAZA CITY - School over for the day, the three boys told their unsuspecting parents they were off to see friends.

Hours later, their bullet-riddled bodies were lying in the dirt outside a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops had shot them before they could reach their target.

Suicide notes left by the 14-year-old classmates showed they knew the venture would end in their deaths.

The Israeli Army said the boys, named by relatives as Youssef Zaqout, Anwar Hamdouna and Ismail Abu Nadi, were carrying home-made pipe bombs, an axe and knives.

The boys' gesture of resistance to occupation has deeply disturbed some community leaders who fear other youngsters might copy their quest for "martyrdom".

Even the Islamic militant group Hamas, which has sent scores of members on suicide missions against Israelis, described the schoolboys' actions as a "national catastrophe".

Their deaths mirrored that of another 14-year-old, Haitham Abu Shuqa, killed last week trying to stage a solo attack on a Jewish settlement with pipe bombs and a dagger.

The pipe bombs are crude devices that use gunpowder extracted from ordinary fireworks.

Thousands of Palestinians marched yesterday behind the coffins of the schoolboys to a cemetery in Sheikh Rudwan district, where they had spent their brief lives.

They had left notes for their families, explaining what they planned to do and asking forgiveness.

"Oh mother, please be happy with me. I ask you to pray to God to make my martyrdom operation a success," wrote Zaqout. "I am giving my soul for God and the homeland."

The three boys all went to school as usual on Wednesday and returned home briefly before embarking on their fatal mission, telling their parents they were off to meet friends.

"Dad, Mum, forgive me. I am going to carry out a martyrdom operation against a settlement," Abu Naid said.

As Gaza parents pondered the state of mind of their own offspring, psychologist Fadel Abu Heen said many children were severely traumatised by seeing and hearing of Palestinians, especially children their own age, being killed by the Israelis.

A Palestinian source said police had intercepted several youngsters en route to Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip with violence in mind in the last few days.

- REUTERS

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