Special Dispatch - Egypt/Jihad & Terrorism Studies
February 6, 2004
No. 658

Egyptian Government Daily:
Suicide Bombings are Legitimate Even if Children Are Killed

An editorial in the Egyptian government daily Al-Masaa praised
suicide/martyrdom operations, and called on Palestinian organizations to not
publish the names of the bombers so that their families' houses would not be
demolished. The article focuses primarily on female suicide bombers,
following the debate in the Arab media over Hamas's dispatching of Reem
Al-Riyashi, a mother of two, to carry out the January 14, 2004 bombing in
Gaza. The following is the translation of the editorial:(1)

"We ask again, why do the various Palestinian organizations insist on
publishing the name of everyone who carries out a martyrdom operation
against the Zionist entity?

"We have no argument regarding the question of the legitimacy of these
operations, because they are considered a powerful weapon used by the
Palestinians against an enemy with no morality or religion, [an enemy] who
has deadly weapons prohibited by international law, that is not deterred
from using them against the defenseless Palestinian people.

"Even if during [a martyrdom operation] civilians or children are killed -
the blame does not fall upon the Palestinians, but on those who forced them
to turn to this modus operandi.

"Ultimately, we should bless every Palestinian man or woman who goes calmly
to carry out a martyrdom operation, in order to receive a reward in the
Hereafter, sacrificing her life for her religion and her homeland and
knowing that she will never return from this operation.

"But at the same time, we wonder about the reason for publishing the names
of those who carry out the [martyrdom] operations; [this publishing] is a
valuable gift that the Palestinian resistance gives the Zionist entity,
since as soon as it receives this gift, the armies of the [Zionist] entity
hasten to the home of the martyr's family, wounded by the loss of its son,
in order to multiply its pain by destroying its home. Moreover, the home of
the martyr's family is always destroyed negligently, causing serious damage
to or the collapse of the neighbor's home.

"We ask the leaders of these organizations: Give us one good reason for
publishing the names of the martyrs whom, it can be assumed, martyred
themselves for the religion, the homeland, and the people, and not for any
other reason. The Lebanese resistance published [the names of] those who
took this path during the years of the Zionist occupation [in Lebanon]
without any logical justification. We were surprised that the Palestinian
resistance is employing the same method, also without any justification.

"This is even though the situation is different, as the Shahids in the case
of Lebanon, such as Sanaa Muheidali and other women, lived in territories
not under the control of the Zionist occupation, while in the Palestinian
case, [they live under Zionist occupation]."

Endnote:
1 Al-Masaa (Egypt), January 2, 2004.

*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle
East. Copies of articles
and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on
request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with
proper attribution.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
www.memri.org