jerusalem | Days after the assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Israeli soldiers near Nablus prevented Husam Abdu, 14, from blowing himself up .
“He was fully aware of what he was to do and told us he received 100 shekels and was instructed to blow himself up near soldiers,” battalion commander Lt. Col. Guy said. “The soldiers’ quick action not only saved their lives but those of 200 Palestinian men, women and children who were at the roadblock.”
The boy’s explosives belt contained pounds of explosives, plus bolts and screws. It was later blown up by sappers.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the terrorists attempt to dispatch a pregnant woman wearing explosives next,” Guy said. “It is hard to believe how low the terrorists are willing to stoop. They have no morals.”
It was the second time in 10 days that Fatah in Nablus attempted to turn children into human bombs. On Monday, March 15, 11-year-old Abdullah Kuran was asked to carry several bags through the roadblock and hand them to a woman waiting on the other side for money.
Unaware that one of the bags contained a bomb, he was stopped by soldiers who discovered it during a routine inspection.
When Kuran’s dispatchers saw he had been stopped, they attempted to detonate the bomb by cell phone, but failed.
The following day security forces discovered a bomb hidden in a truckload of merchandise at a roadblock on the other side of Nablus. It had been buried among rolls of cloth, sweets and other goods.
“My soldiers spotted Abdu as he pushed through the line of Palestinians waiting to undergo inspection and began racing toward them,” said Guy. “He was four or five meters from them.
“Noticing that his shirt was padded, they called out to him to halt. They took cover, aimed their weapons at him and told him to raise his hands. Then they asked him to lift his shirt and saw the belt of explosives. Seeing the soldiers’ weapons, he became frightened and told the soldiers he was scared.”
Soldiers also moved the Palestinians at the roadblock away. Abdu stood in isolation with his hands raised until sappers dispatched a robot carrying scissors to him and instructed him to cut the shoulder straps holding up the belt and to slip it off.
He was then told to strip to insure that no additional explosives were strapped to him. He cut off part of it and struggled with the rest. “I don’t know how to get this off,” he said.
“It is sad and tragic,” said Guy. “He was fully aware of his actions and wanted to blow up, as he was promised 72 virgins in heaven and 100 shekels,” Guy said.
Abdu, who lives in Nablus, told interrogators he was jeered at by his friends who made fun of him, and decided to take advantage of the offer.
“Blowing myself up is the only chance I’ve got to have sex with 72 virgins in the Garden of Eden,” Abdu said his handlers had told him.
Security officials have not ruled out the possibility that the same cell is responsible for dispatching both would-be bombers and that Hezbollah instructed it to launch the attacks.