Post by Salem6 on Jan 15, 2004 7:26:08 GMT
The Islamic militant group Hamas has used a female bomber for the first time in a suicide attack which killed four Israelis on the border with Gaza.
Hamas vowed to intensify attacks against Israel following the bombing at the main Erez crossing.
Israelis and Palestinians were among the wounded
Until now, only secular Palestinian groups have deployed women in suicide attacks against Israeli targets.
Militants identified the bomber as Hamas member Reem Raiyshi, a mother-of-two in her early 20s, from Gaza.
Israel condemned the bombing and warned it might tighten restrictions against Palestinians.
At least two Palestinians were among seven people injured in the blast.
Males 'face obstacles'
Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which is linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, said the attack in Erez was a joint operation.
The BBC's Middle East correspondent, James Reynolds, says this shows that despite wide-ranging political differences and rivalries between Hamas and Fatah, there is strong co-operation in the field among the different armed factions.
Hamas said it sent a woman because of growing Israeli security "obstacles" facing its male bombers.
"For the first time [Hamas] used a female fighter and not a male fighter and that was a new development in resistance against the enemy," Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said.
"Resistance will escalate against this enemy [Israel] until they leave our land and homeland."
The BBC's Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says it appears the Islamic movement is putting practical considerations ahead of ideological ones - they are hoping women may have a better chance than men of evading Israeli security precautions.
'Tricked soldiers'
The woman blew herself up inside a security office at about 1000 (0800 GMT) as Palestinians were going through security checks before entering a nearby industrial complex.
"My wish was fulfilled in the manner I wanted" Reem Raiyshi
Israeli officials said the bomber tricked soldiers by saying she had a metal implant in her leg which would trigger metal detectors.
"Because she was a woman, a female soldier was sent for to search her. She used this opportunity to enter the building, a metre or two past the door, and blow up," said Israeli Brigadier-General Gadi Shamni, commander of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as the woman detonated explosives concealed in her vest.
"Glass and black smoke flew everywhere," an unnamed Palestinian told Reuters.
"Arabs were screaming, Jews were screaming, nobody knew what was going on."
Disappointment
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said the industrial estate where the attack happened was a good example of co-operation between Israelis and Palestinians. He suggested that the militants were harming their own people by targeting such places which offered employment.
"They are not only attacking Israelis and blowing up human beings, they are also blowing up any kind of chance for peace and reconciliation between both sides," he told the BBC.
Correspondents say there will be a lot of disappointment among Palestinians over the attack - there is high unemployment in the Gaza Strip and many are extremely glad of the high wages paid at the industrial estate.
Another government spokesman, Avi Pazner, said Israel might tighten measures against Palestinians following the bombing.
Erez is the main crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which is surrounded by an Israeli fence to stop suicide bombers entering Israel.
The blast is the first suicide attack since 25 December, 2003, when four Israelis were killed and over 20 injured in a blast near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
It came a day after a 29-year-old Jewish settler was killed by Palestinian militants in a drive-by shooting near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Video:-
The BBC's Chris Morris
"Any suggestion that Hamas might be observing an unofficial truce has been dashed"
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39740000/rm/_39740499_gaza01_morris_vi.ram
'God, make me a martyr'
The pan-Arabic television station Al-Jazeera has broadcast a videotaped statement from the Hamas suicide bomber Reem Saleh Raiyshi.
Raiyshi - the first female suicide bomber to be used by Islamic militants - blew herself up on Wednesday at the Erez checkpoint between Israel and the Gaza Strip, killing at least four Israelis.
The following are excerpts from the broadcast statement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By God, my heart is full of many mixed feelings that I cannot control as though a thought is filling my mind, and living in my heart, a pleasant dream is gripping my body, and the beats of my heart say: "God, make me a martyr for your sake."
I have always wished, and went too far in wishing, that my body would be shrapnel that tears the sons of Zion, and I have always wished to knock at the door of heaven with the skulls of the sons of Zion.
By God, if you break my bones and cut off my body, you will not be able to change my faith or change my banner. This is my conviction...
I began to try to do my utmost after the second preparatory grade. I searched on a daily and continuous basis in the hope of finding someone who would guide or help me in anything.
By God, my search continued for years, but I did not feel bored even for one second or retreat in my mind. It was hard for me to find someone who would satisfy my desire; namely, martyrdom. I have always dreamt and wished to carry out a martyrdom-seeking an operation inside Israel, but did not manage.
I have always dreamt of sacrificing myself for the sake of God Almighty. By God, I wished to be the first female who carried out a martyrdom-seeking operation where my body would be scattered in the air.
This was my most wanted wish that I asked God Almighty to fulfil. Through strong persistence and by God's favour, my wish was fulfilled in the manner I wanted.
BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
Hamas vowed to intensify attacks against Israel following the bombing at the main Erez crossing.
Israelis and Palestinians were among the wounded
Until now, only secular Palestinian groups have deployed women in suicide attacks against Israeli targets.
Militants identified the bomber as Hamas member Reem Raiyshi, a mother-of-two in her early 20s, from Gaza.
Israel condemned the bombing and warned it might tighten restrictions against Palestinians.
At least two Palestinians were among seven people injured in the blast.
Males 'face obstacles'
Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which is linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, said the attack in Erez was a joint operation.
The BBC's Middle East correspondent, James Reynolds, says this shows that despite wide-ranging political differences and rivalries between Hamas and Fatah, there is strong co-operation in the field among the different armed factions.
Hamas said it sent a woman because of growing Israeli security "obstacles" facing its male bombers.
"For the first time [Hamas] used a female fighter and not a male fighter and that was a new development in resistance against the enemy," Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said.
"Resistance will escalate against this enemy [Israel] until they leave our land and homeland."
The BBC's Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says it appears the Islamic movement is putting practical considerations ahead of ideological ones - they are hoping women may have a better chance than men of evading Israeli security precautions.
'Tricked soldiers'
The woman blew herself up inside a security office at about 1000 (0800 GMT) as Palestinians were going through security checks before entering a nearby industrial complex.
"My wish was fulfilled in the manner I wanted" Reem Raiyshi
Israeli officials said the bomber tricked soldiers by saying she had a metal implant in her leg which would trigger metal detectors.
"Because she was a woman, a female soldier was sent for to search her. She used this opportunity to enter the building, a metre or two past the door, and blow up," said Israeli Brigadier-General Gadi Shamni, commander of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as the woman detonated explosives concealed in her vest.
"Glass and black smoke flew everywhere," an unnamed Palestinian told Reuters.
"Arabs were screaming, Jews were screaming, nobody knew what was going on."
Disappointment
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said the industrial estate where the attack happened was a good example of co-operation between Israelis and Palestinians. He suggested that the militants were harming their own people by targeting such places which offered employment.
"They are not only attacking Israelis and blowing up human beings, they are also blowing up any kind of chance for peace and reconciliation between both sides," he told the BBC.
Correspondents say there will be a lot of disappointment among Palestinians over the attack - there is high unemployment in the Gaza Strip and many are extremely glad of the high wages paid at the industrial estate.
Another government spokesman, Avi Pazner, said Israel might tighten measures against Palestinians following the bombing.
Erez is the main crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which is surrounded by an Israeli fence to stop suicide bombers entering Israel.
The blast is the first suicide attack since 25 December, 2003, when four Israelis were killed and over 20 injured in a blast near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
It came a day after a 29-year-old Jewish settler was killed by Palestinian militants in a drive-by shooting near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Video:-
The BBC's Chris Morris
"Any suggestion that Hamas might be observing an unofficial truce has been dashed"
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39740000/rm/_39740499_gaza01_morris_vi.ram
'God, make me a martyr'
The pan-Arabic television station Al-Jazeera has broadcast a videotaped statement from the Hamas suicide bomber Reem Saleh Raiyshi.
Raiyshi - the first female suicide bomber to be used by Islamic militants - blew herself up on Wednesday at the Erez checkpoint between Israel and the Gaza Strip, killing at least four Israelis.
The following are excerpts from the broadcast statement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By God, my heart is full of many mixed feelings that I cannot control as though a thought is filling my mind, and living in my heart, a pleasant dream is gripping my body, and the beats of my heart say: "God, make me a martyr for your sake."
I have always wished, and went too far in wishing, that my body would be shrapnel that tears the sons of Zion, and I have always wished to knock at the door of heaven with the skulls of the sons of Zion.
By God, if you break my bones and cut off my body, you will not be able to change my faith or change my banner. This is my conviction...
I began to try to do my utmost after the second preparatory grade. I searched on a daily and continuous basis in the hope of finding someone who would guide or help me in anything.
By God, my search continued for years, but I did not feel bored even for one second or retreat in my mind. It was hard for me to find someone who would satisfy my desire; namely, martyrdom. I have always dreamt and wished to carry out a martyrdom-seeking an operation inside Israel, but did not manage.
I have always dreamt of sacrificing myself for the sake of God Almighty. By God, I wished to be the first female who carried out a martyrdom-seeking operation where my body would be scattered in the air.
This was my most wanted wish that I asked God Almighty to fulfil. Through strong persistence and by God's favour, my wish was fulfilled in the manner I wanted.
BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.