(Ha'aretz) Wafa al-Bas, 21, arrested on Monday at a Gaza checkpoint, planned to blow herself up in an Israeli hospital. Israeli officials said Bas was burned in a cooking accident five months ago and had received treatment on humanitarian grounds at Beersheba hospital. She was making another trip for follow-up treatment but planned to blow herself up instead. In an interview shown on Israeli television, Bas said her "dream was to be a martyr." She said she was recruited by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - an off-shoot of Palestinian leader Abbas' Fatah faction. Later, she pleaded for mercy because she "didn't kill anyone." (BBC) The Shin Bet received a tip that Fatah was planning to send Bas on a suicide mission via one of the Gaza Strip crossings. Israel gave the PA and Chairman Mahmoud Abbas detailed information of the plan, but the PA did nothing.
2005-06-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive