Israeli paratroopers stop 15-year-old Palestinian from detonating himself
{{date|April 13, 2005}}

Hassan Hashash, a [[w:Palestinians|Palestinian]] aged 15, was detained by the Israeli military on Tuesday, April 12, at the Hawara checkpoint south of [[w:Nablus|Nablus]] in the [[w:West Bank|West Bank]]. Hashash had been hiding five explosive charges under a winter coat before attempting to ignite one in the presence of Israeli soldiers, the military said. In the sweltering 26&deg;C (78&deg;F) heat, the teenager's incongruous attire caught the attention of an [[w:Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] paratrooper nicknamed Muli.

"The boy pulled out a matchbox, held up a [[w:pipe bomb|pipe bomb]], and attempted to detonate it," said Muli. "We aimed our weapons at him and told him to move away from us" (Ynet).

The military reported that after taking the youth to an isolated area they searched him and found another four explosives.

"You could see it's a young child who was sent [by someone]," said Muli. "I looked into his eyes: he was on the brink of tears and scared to death."

The Hawara checkpoint has seen this kind of trouble before. In April 2004, soldiers there arrested a 16-year-old, also Palestinian, with a [[w:suicide bombing|suicide bomb]] strapped to his body. The teenager, Hussam Abdo, later told an Israeli newspaper he was on a mission to kill Israeli soldiers. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/25/world/main608756.shtml]

Israeli radio noted that this is the third Palestinian child in the past two months caught attempting to transfer explosives past Israeli checkpoints.

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3071736,00.html
|title=Boy carrying 5 bombs detained
|author=Efrat Weiss
|pub=Ynet News
|date=April 13, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/13/international/13briefs.html
|title=WEST BANK: Palestinian youth with pipe bombs held
|author=Greg Myre
|pub=New York Times
|date=April 13, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/564145.html
|title=IDF arrests 15-year-old boy carrying five pipe bombs
|author=The Associated Press
|pub=Haaretz Daily
|date=April 13, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1113272266028
|title=Another boy-bomber caught at Hawara
|author=Margot Dudkevitch
|pub=Jerusalem Post
|date=April 13, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=80155
|author=Israel National News
|title=Rifle-Smuggling into Gaza Nipped in the Bud; Terror Continues 
|pub=Arutz Sheva News (Channel 7 News)
|date=April 13, 2005}}

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[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:West Bank]]
Hassan Hashash, a Palestinian aged 15, was detained by the Israeli military on Tuesday, April 12, at the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus in the West Bank. Hashash had been hiding five explosive charges under a winter coat before attempting to ignite one in the presence of Israeli soldiers, the military said. In the sweltering 26°C (78°F) heat, the teenager's incongruous attire caught the attention of an IDF paratrooper nicknamed Muli.

"The boy pulled out a matchbox, held up a pipe bomb, and attempted to detonate it," said Muli. "We aimed our weapons at him and told him to move away from us" (Ynet).

The military reported that after taking the youth to an isolated area they searched him and found another four explosives.

"You could see it's a young child who was sent by someone," said Muli. "I looked into his eyes: he was on the brink of tears and scared to death."

The Hawara checkpoint has seen this kind of trouble before. In April 2004, soldiers there arrested a 16-year-old, also Palestinian, with a suicide bomb strapped to his body. The teenager, Hussam Abdo, later told an Israeli newspaper he was on a mission to kill Israeli soldiers. 

Israeli radio noted that this is the third Palestinian child in the past two months caught attempting to transfer explosives past Israeli checkpoints.
Politics and conflicts Middle East Israel West Bank