Hamas first recruits woman to be suicide bomber

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 15, 2004

Hamas first recruits woman to be suicide bomber

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder and spiritual leader of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, thus commented on the suicide bombing attack carried out by a 21-year-old woman from Gaza at Erez terminal Wednesday morning.

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"Although recruiting Muslim women to fight for the land and for Islam is exceptional, Jihad (holy war) is obligatory on every Muslim, male or female."

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder and spiritual leader of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, thus commented on the suicide bombing attack carried out by a 21-year-old woman from Gaza at Erez terminal Wednesday morning.

It was the first time ever that Hamas recruits a Palestinian woman since the movement decided to use human beings to carry out bombing attacks against Israel. However, it was the seventh time in general that a woman's body is used in a Palestinian suicide bombing.

In the three-year intifada (uprising), seven Palestinian women carried out six suicide bombing attacks against Israeli targets, in which a total of 33 Israelis were killed and more than 200 others wounded.

The females were recruited by Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the last one Hamas.

Reem Saleh Reyashi, a 21-year-old resident in Gaza and mother of two, left her house early on Wednesday and headed to Erez terminal in the northern Gaza Strip.

Binding explosives around her body, she blew herself up at the heavily guarded entrance to Erez area, very close to Israeli soldiers positioned there.

Four Israelis were killed, three of them soldiers and the fourth a civilian. Over 10 others were wounded, five of them Palestinian workers who were waiting at the checkpoint for crossing.

Reyashi recorded a video tape before her sacrifice.

Wearing a scarf and with a green strip on which was written "Brigades of Ezzedine Al-Qassam" in Arabic on her forehead, she said she was happy to practice "the heroic martyrdom operation to avenge the enemies who kill Palestinian women and children round the clock."

Reyashi was the first Gazan woman to be a suicide bomber.

No information was available on why Reyashi did it. Her family was very aggressive to reporters and refused to say one single word.

The neighbors were shocked when they heard of Reyashi's death. They said Reyashi's relatives had evacuated the house in fear that the Israeli forces would come to demolish it.

Sheikh Saeed Seyam, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, said "resistance is legal for all the Palestinians against the occupiers."

"Resistance is not monopolized only by men. Jihad is obligatory both for men and women," said Seyam, adding that "using a man or a woman is related to the abilities and the circumstances."

He claimed that his group usually studied the cases and the targets, and then chose the best chance for attack.

Another Hamas source said two goals of Reyashi's attack were achieved. The first was that she was the first woman from Gaza, and secondly, it was the first big suicide bombing in the new year.

In stark contrast to past experience, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) did not condemn the attack this time, but put the blame on Israel for the recent escalation of violence.

PNA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said Wednesday that the suicide bombing took place because of the Israeli policy against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"The siege, the closure, the continuation of building the racist security barrier, killing innocent civilians, incursions, demolition and restrictions are pushing the Palestinians to be more violent," Qurei declared.

Source: Xinhua

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