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The Family from Israel's Worst Nightmare


(BBC News) Orla Guerin - I met Ali five years ago in Dehaishe, a squalid corner of biblical Bethlehem. I had just arrived in the Middle East and I wanted to see the future, to talk to the young generation. Ali's older brother Mahmud had been shot dead planting a bomb. Over tea served with mint leaves, I asked Ali what kind of future he wanted for himself. "From a long time back my feelings towards Jews are feelings of hatred," he said. "What I want to do most is kill Jews. It's in my blood. Ever since I was a child I have dreamed of this." Before leaving the Middle East, I went to find Ali, to see if he was dead or alive, and if he had got his wish. The teenager that I met is now a man, behind bars in an Israeli jail. His father Youssef says he was charged with sending out a suicide bomber who killed two Israelis and injured 37. As we speak, Youssef's four-year-old grandson Mahmud appears, named after the uncle who died fighting the Israelis. "I hope he will copy him," his grandfather says.
2005-12-02 00:00:00
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