(Sydney Morning Herald) Paul McGeough - In a town-by-town tour of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip last year, leaders in all the Palestinian militia groups told me they were inundated with offers from eager teenagers, young women, and fathers in their 40s who are prepared to die. In Gaza City, Dr. Rabah Mohanna, of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said: "Thousands of young men and women are ready to be blown up. It is a new phenomenon - you have no idea how big it is." Some said a bombing mission could be set up for as little as U.S.$150, but a Hamas operative said the price of a complete mission was more likely to be about $4,000. See also Female Suicide Bomber Ignites Palestinian Feminist Debate - Mohammed Daraghmeh Since Hiba Daraghmeh of the Islamic Jihad blew herself up and killed three Israelis at a mall in Afula on May 19, mosque leaders, school teachers, and Islamic militants say they have been peppered with questions from teenage girls and young women asking what kind of role they could play in the fighting. (AP/San Francisco Chronicle)
2003-06-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive