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<font size=3><br><br>
</font><font size=2><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8C7BCBC3-CA2C-4F33-B27D-80AF0AF830E2.htm">http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8C7BCBC3-CA2C-4F33-B27D-80AF0AF830E2.htm</a><br><br>
</font><font size=3>Israel 'fabricated' child-bomber story<br><br>
</font><font size=2><i>By</i></font><font size=3> Khalid Amayreh in the
West Bank <br><br>
<br>
Thursday 25 March 2004, 15:38 Makka Time, 12:38 GMT <br><br>
Palestinian leaders have accused Israel of fabricating a story about a
14-year-old Palestinian boy who planned to blow himself up.<br><br>
</font><font size=2>The Israeli army said he was caught wearing an
explosive belt at an army roadblock in the northern West Bank.<br><br>
The boy, identified as Husam Abdu from Nablus, was shown on TV screens
around the world, with an explosive belt strapped to his waist.<br><br>
The Israeli army said the boy told interrogators that his dispatchers
promised that he would have sex with 72 virgins in heaven soon after his
death.<br><br>
"We know for sure this is a fabricated story from A to Z. Would you
believe that a 13 or 14-year old would agree to blow up himself in return
for a hundred shekels which he would receive after his death? <br><br>
"It seems to me that the Israelis are bad liars as well," said
Yaqub Shahin, a director-general of the Palestinian Authority ministry of
information.<br><br>
<b>Painting a 'terrorist' picture<br><br>
</b>In an interview with Aljazeera.net, Shahin accused Israel of seeking
to justify slaughtering Palestinian children by spreading the false
impression that they are used as human bombers.<br><br>
"Their [Israel's] goal is to besmirch Palestinian childhood so that
when they slaughter the children, the world won’t feel sorry for
them," he said.<br><br>
Arab Knesset member Muhammad Baraka has also voiced "serious
doubts" about the veracity of the Israeli narrative.<br><br>
"I have very serious doubts about the whole story. I can't give the
Israeli army the benefit of the doubt."<br><br>
However, Baraka urged all parties to "keep children away from this
sinister and bloody conflict.<br><br>
"Using children as bombs is infinitely diabolical. It is totally
inconsistent with all religious, moral and human values."<br><br>
<b>Fatah denial<br><br>
</b>The armed wing of Fatah, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, has denied any
involvement in the incident, accusing Israel of "concocting the
whole story for the purpose of justifying the killing of more Palestinian
children."<br><br>
The Israeli newspaper Yedeot Ahranot reported on Thursday that Abdu told
Shin Beth interrogators that an anonymous person had promised him 100
shekels if he blew himself up in the midst of Israeli soldiers.<br><br>
Samir Khiwairah, a Nablus journalist who personally knows the boys
family, told Aljazeera.net that the boys mental capacity to distinguish
things is very low.<br>
<br>
"I don't completely rule out the possibility that some evil person
gave him the explosive belt and told him he would become a hero ... but
this is a very tiny possibility."<br><br>
Khiwairah said the Israeli army had a history of "fabricating and
concocting stories" for the purpose of vilifying the Palestinians
and winning public relations points.<br>
<br>
<b>Similar story<br><br>
</b>A few weeks ago, another boy from Nablus, Muhammad Kuraan, made
headlines when the Israeli army presented him to the media as a child who
had been dispatched to blow himself up at an Israeli roadblock.<br>
</font><font face="verdana" size=1><b> <br>
</b></font><font size=2>However, when the boy returned home, he
reportedly told his family and relatives that the "Jews told me to
do this or else they would kill me."<br>
<br>
Aljazeera.net asked the Israeli army spokesman in Tel Aviv to explain why
Abdu would accept 100 shekels to get blown up and what good the money
could possibly do? <br><br>
The army was also asked to explain why it had TV cameras ready at the
roadblock more than two hours before the event.<br><br>
Despite two hours of waiting, the army failed to provide an answer.
<br><br>
<b>Child-killing<br><br>
</b>The controversy of using children in the Israeli-Palestinian strife
underscores the brazen ugliness of the conflict.<br>
<br>
According to human rights groups operating in the occupied territories,
the Israeli army has killed hundreds of Palestinian children since the
outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada more than three and a half years
ago.<br>
<br>
According to a spokeswoman for the East Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human
Rights Monitoring Group (HRMG), the Israeli army and paramilitary Jewish
settlers have killed 263 Palestinian children from age 0-14 and 236
minors from the age of 15-18 during the ongoing Intifada.<br>
<br>
The total number of Palestinians killed by Israel since the outbreak of
the Intifada is estimated at 2670.<br>
<br>
The figures for the injured and maimed are believed to be in the
thousands.<br><br>
The number of Israelis killed by Palestinians during the same period is
around 838, including soldiers, settlers and civilians.<br><br>
Israel claims its army doesn't target Palestinian civilians deliberately
but admits, rather grudgingly, that the killing is carried out
knowingly.<br><br>
However, human rights groups argue forcefully that killing knowingly is
killing deliberately in the final analysis.<br><br>
</font><font size=3>Aljazeera<br><br>
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