Jerusalem, 27 January 2002
PA Soccer Tournament Named After Terrorists
(Communicated by Israeli security sources)
A Palestinian soccer tournament is being held at a Palestinian
Authority school in Tulkarm. The teams participating in the
tournament have been named after Palestinian terrorists, and the
tournament itself was named after Abd al-Basset Oudeh, the terrorist
who carried out the Passover Eve Massacre at the Park Hotel in
Netanya.
The tournament is being conducted under the auspices of official PA
educators, among them the school principle and the PA's regional
superintendent of education. The event was reported (21 January) in
the Palestinian daily, al-Hayat al-Jedida, the official organ of the
Palestinian Authority (PA) published under the auspices of Yasser
Arafat.
By organizing a soccer tournament to immortalize murderers, the
Palestinian Authority school is not only educating Palestinian
children to view the terrorists as "martyrs" - they are also being
held up by the school as models to be emulated. In this way, the
Palestinian Authority is helping to nurture a new generation of
suicide bombers - children whose ambition to murder Israelis is part
and parcel of their childhood.
Details of the shahids (martyrs) from Tulkarm after whom the
tournament and teams were named:
1. Abd al-Basset Oudeh - Carried out the massacre at the Park Hotel in Netanya
on Passover eve, March 27, 2002, in which 29 people were killed, and
64 people injured. The terrorist attack was carried out by the Hamas
organization.
2. Taher Kaneb - Killed in the course of disturbances in the Tulkarm
district, in October 2002.
3. Raed Carmi - One of the Fatah-Tanzim commanders who was killed
during an operation, in January 2002. Carmi was responsible for the
following terrorist attacks:
- Numerous terrorist shootings at IDF bases in the Tulkarm district
since the eruption of the Palestinian wave of terrorism.
- December 7, 2000: A shooting at an Israeli vehicle next to the
village of Burka. Two IDF soldiers and an Israeli civilian were
wounded.
- January 23, 2001: The abduction and murder of two restaurateurs
from Tel Aviv who visited Tulkarm.
- May 31, 2001: The shooting attack at an Israeli vehicle in Baka
al-Sharkiya in which an Israeli civilian was killed.
- June 18, 2001: A shooting attack at an Israeli civilian in the
community of Einav in which an Israeli civilian was killed and
another person wounded.
- July 4, 2001: The killing of an Israeli civilian in the area of
Shuweikeh.
- July 30, 2001: A shooting attack close to the village of Bir
Sicca, in which three border policemen were wounded, one
seriously.
- August 26, 2001: The killing of an Israeli citizen close to the
village of Zaita.
- September 6, 2001: A shooting attack at an Israeli vehicle close
to the village of Bir Sicca, in which an IDF officer was killed and
another female soldier was wounded.
- October 28, 2001: A shooting attack near Kibbutz
Metzer in which an IDF soldier was killed.
- November 19, 2001: A shooting at a taxi by the Shavei Shomron
Junction, in which three Israeli civilians were wounded, one
seriously.
- November 28, 2001: An attempt to smuggle two suicide bombers
from Tulkarm into Israel in order to carry out an attack. The
terrorist attack was foiled as a result of a massive deployment of
security forces along the green line, in the Tulkarm district.
4. Wajdi al-Hatab - He was killed in November 2000, in the course of
clashes with IDF soldiers.
5. Tarek Abu Safaka - He carried out the attack on the community of
Hermesh on October 29, 2002, in which three Israeli civilians were
killed, and a soldier was wounded. The terrorist attack was carried
out by the Fatah-Tanzim organization in Tulkarm.
6. Tarek al-Qato - He was killed in a clash with IDF soldiers close
to the Geshuri plant, on December 31, 2000.
7. Husam al-Hamshari - He was killed in October 2000, during clashes
with IDF soldiers in the Tulkarm district.
8. Mahmud Marmash - He carried out the suicide bombing at the Sharon
Mall in Netanya, on May 18, 2001, in which five Israeli civilians
were killed and 74 others were wounded. The attack was carried out by
the Hamas organization.