April 27, 2004.
…. How far can this culture of death go ….
A Hamas suicide bomber blew up two armed Palestinians who tried to rob him
at gun point in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas claimed the ‘stickup men’ worked for Israeli intelligence, while
Palestinian security forces said the two were ordinary thieves.
Rather than give up his explosives, the bomber detonated them, killing himself
and the two robbers near the border fence between Gaza and Israel.
Palestinian security officials said the gunmen were criminals who were involved
in a car theft ring that brought stolen vehicles from Israel to Gaza.
Hamas said the bomber was on his way to try to infiltrate into Israel,
accompanied by another Hamas member and a guide, when they were stopped
by the armed men.
The robbers forced the bomber to lie on the ground and tried to steal the
bomb, but the militant detonated it, killing all three. The other Hamas man and
the guide escaped.
There have been cases of rival groups stealing each other’s explosives, but no
group claimed the two gunmen, and their families did not go to the hospital to
take the bodies, indicating that the two were not militants, who are revered in
Palestinian society.
A Hamas official said that whatever their intention, the two should be
considered agents of Israel. “Anyone who tries to stop a fighter from doing his
work is a collaborator,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
