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Palestinian Martyr Left Note Saying He Hated Death
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Mohammed
al-Ghul
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AL-FARAA,
West Bank, June 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – The
Palestinian young man, who blew himself up early Tuesday, killing 20
Israelis and wounding 5o others, left a note left a note to his family
saying how much he hated to kill or be killed.
News
that the 23-year-old Mohammed al-Ghul plotted one of the worst bomb
attacks on Israel since the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada
(against the Israeli occupation) 21 months ago left his family
anguished, confused and proud, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
resistance attack also left them looking for answers, which they found
in a letter tucked away between two books in Ghul's bedroom in
Al-Faraa, a northern West Bank refugee camp.
"This
operation doesn't mean I like to kill," Ghul said in the
handwritten note dated Saturday, June 15, 2002. "I hate to kill
or be killed. But I did it so that future generations will have a
better life."
Ghul,
wearing a red jumper, boarded a rush-hour bus crowded with commuters
and schoolchildren in southern Jerusalem early Tuesday and set off a
bomb that turned the vehicle into a charred hulk.
The
armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas claimed
responsibility for the attack and vowed to launch many more against
Israel until the end of occupation.
Upon
hearing news of the bombing and Ghul's name announced through the
loudspeakers of the local mosque, his family looked for evidence of
his involvement and came upon the letter.
"My
mother found it," said Jihad, 35, one of Ghul's six brothers.
"She just didn't want to believe Mohammed was responsible for the
operation and went to search his room hoping she would prove herself
wrong. But there it was."
The
note also said Ghul attempted to carry out an attack three times
before, "but the circumstances had not allowed for it." It
provided no further details.
Mentioning
his mother by her name, he wrote, "Don't be sad, don't cry but be
proud that I am a martyr."
However,
his mother did cry and could only invoke Allah's mercy for her son
when Hamas asserted its responsibility for the attack and identified
the bomber.
Jihad,
an administrative clerk in Jenin some 20 kilometers (12 miles) away,
said he was "confused" by his brother's actions and death.
"I am sad on the one hand that he died but proud that he carried
out such an heroic act."
He
said Mohammed was "very religious" and started work on a
master's degree in Islamic law, or Sharia, at Nablus University in the
northern West Bank and was "intent on completing it."
"He
loved life and love, and was loved by everybody. He was very
quiet," the brother said.
"Mohammed
was so kind, polite and even-tempered. He was always ready to help
people here. ... I am surprised he could have done such thing,"
said Yasser Abu Kishek, head of the refugee camp's people's committee.
But,
Sheikh Zaid Sahran, a Hamas religious figure in Al-Faraa, had a
different view of Mohammed's deed: "He was sweet and nice. We're
all proud of what he did. His attack came in response to the killing
of Palestinians everyday by Israel, civilians and children."
"How
can we fight back against tanks and planes? This operation brings back
some equilibrium between them (the Israelis) and us," he added.
Amjad,
another of Ghul's brothers and a 38-year-old teacher, said Mohammed
memorized the entire Qur’an and occasionally conducted prayers at
the mosque in the camp.
"Although
he was so young, people would refer to him as the Imam," or
religious man, Amjad said.
The
Ghul brothers and their three sisters are all educated despite the
family's modest background and refugee status.
They
support their father, a retired construction worker, and their mother,
a housewife. Some may have been aware of Mohammed's intention to blow
himself up.
Israeli
police arrested Iyad al-Ghul, a 30-year-old nurse at Saint John's
Ophthalmic hospital in East Jerusalem, in the wake of his brother's
suicide attack.
But
Amjad said that Mohammed did not come home or give any news since
Sunday, leaving the family unaware of his whereabouts before they got
word of his fiery death.
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