Martyr’s funeral for bomber

THE young mother-of-two suicide bomber who blew herself up killing four Israelis was given a martyr’s funeral in Gaza city yesterday.

Thousands marched through the streets in the funeral procession of Hamas bomber Reem Raiyshi, 22, who left behind a daughter aged 18 months and a three-year-old son.

Masked gunmen from both Hamas and Al Aqsa carried her coffin, draped in the Hamas green flag, marking the first time the rival Palestinian militant groups marched together.

“It is not enough to call her a hero. Calling her hero does not give the whole truth. This woman abandoned her husband and children in order to win paradise,” said Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar in eulogy.

“She is not going to be the last attacker because the march of resistance will continue until the Islamic flag is raised, not only on the minarets of Jerusalem, but over the whole universe,” promised Zahar.

Israel usually keeps the bodies of suicide bombers, burying them in unmarked graves, to forestall celebratory funerals.

The military did not say why it had decided to return Raiyshi’s body to the Palestinians.

Israel closed down the crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel yesterday, preventing thousands of Palestinians from reaching their jobs, in response to a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis the day before.

The attack at the Erez border crossing between Israel and Gaza was the first time the Islamic militant groups Hamas sent a woman on a suicide mission, and signalled a new tactic in circumventing Israeli security checks that focus mainly on Palestinian men.

The aftermath of the attack meant further hardships for Palestinians.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz imposed a one-day closure on Gaza, preventing thousands of workers from crossing into Israel, and also shut down the Erez industrial park, where 6,000 Palestinians work.

People in the impoverished Gaza Strip depend on those jobs for much of their income.

The army said that only humanitarian cases would qualify for crossing the border.

Brigadier General Gadi Shamni, the Israeli military commander in Gaza, indicated Israel would retaliate for the attack.

“I imagine that we will know how to respond at the time, place and method of our choosing,” he said.

The bomber was escorted into a room at the Erzes crossing to be checked after telling soldiers she had a metal plate in her leg that set off the metal detector.

Once inside, she blew herself up.

Three of those killed in the attack were Israeli immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

Border Police Staff Sergeant Vladimir Trostinsky, 22, moved to Israel with his mother and younger brother seven years ago. He had recently returned to a combat unit after an illness.

Colonel Andrei Kegeles, 19, also in Israel for seven years, was drafted into the army four months ago. His father said he had insisted on serving in a front-line army unit.

The other dead soldier was Staff Sergeant Tzur Or, 20, who was working to become an officer in the army.

The fourth Israeli fatality was security guard, Gal Shapira, 28, an immigrant from Belarus.

In a video made before the attack, Raiyshi wearing the traditional hijab covering for women, and holding an assault rifle, said: “I always wanted to be the first woman to carry out a martyr attack, where parts of my body can fly all over. That is the only wish I can ask God for”.

Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin said the use of a woman bomber was unique for the Islamic group, but holy war “is an obligation of all Muslims, men and women”.