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Shehadeh Shehadeh, son of slain Islamic Jihad militant (Daniel Bar-On / Jini)
Last update - 11:22 18/03/2008
Slain Jihad operative's son: My entire family has turned Hezbollah
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel, West Bank, Hezbollah 

Instead of a Britney Spears ring tone, Shehadeh Shehadeh's cell phone emits a recording of a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. "Our entire family has turned Shi'ite," he boasts.

Last week, Israeli security forces operating in the West Bank town of Bethlehem killed his father, Mohammed Shehadeh, who was a senior commander in Islamic Jihad.

"My father decided to become a Shi'ite after he was deported to Marj Al-Juhur in Lebanon in 1992," the son recounted. "He met there with all sorts of Shi'ite people and he saw that the oppression the Shi'ites have had to endure is very much like the oppression that the Palestinians have suffered."
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According to the 19-year-old Shehadeh, his father eventually came to "respect the Shi'ite commentary on the Koran." He equates his father's actions with those of Imam Hussein, whom Shi'ites believe to be Prophet Mohammed's true follower.

"My father decided not to surrender and chose a martyr's death, just like Imam Hussein, who fought at Karbala," he said, referring to the 680 C.E. clash in what is now Iraq, which proved to be one of the most significant battles in Muslim history. In it, Hussein ibn Ali, Mohammed's grandson and one of the founding fathers of the Shi'ite sect, was slain by Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph.

Sitting in his house in Bethlehem's Wadi Maali neighborhood, the young man entertained a group of friends, all devout Muslims filled with extremist zeal. They were there to mourn his father's loss with him.

The son is outspoken about his disdain for Israelis. "The Jews killed the prophets," he reiterated several times in his conversation with Haaretz.

"Some Jews are all right and my father valued them, like Neturei Karta," he conceded, referring to a fringe ultra-Orthodox sect that is rabidly anti-Zionist. "But most Jews are the enemy."

"Even in your soccer matches, you scream that you want war," he added, prompting knowing nods from his friends.

They are all dressed like Israeli youths their age. Yet throughout the eight years of the intifada, they have not seen a single Jewish Israeli. The Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa in East Jerusalem, just a few kilometers away across the separation fence, might as well be on another planet.

The son said that his father was not a member of Hezbollah, but did identify with the organization. He did not deny that his family received a telephone call from Nasrallah's office in which Hezbollah offered it financial assistance.

One of Shehadeh's friends said that many Palestinian opinion leaders are now joining the ranks of the Shi'a. He named Issa Batat, one of the Islamic Jihad's senior commanders in the Bethlehem area, who is serving a sentence inside an Israeli prison, and Mohammed Kawamleh, a Jihad member who is still wanted by Israel's security services.

Turning to the political implications of his father's assassination, Shehadeh Shehadeh said: "What have you achieved by killing my father? You made a mockery, as always, of the Palestinian Authority."

Mohammed Shehadeh, 45, was a former member of Fatah who later became a senior officer in the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad. He was killed last Wednesday night along with Imad al-Kamel, Issa Marzouk and Ahmad al-Balboul, also from Bethlehem. They were ambushed in one of the town's suburbs by Israeli troops dressed in civilian clothes and driving a civilian car.

The Israeli raid came at a delicate time for the PA and its president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. Egyptian mediators were trying to broker a truce that would calm the hostilities between Israel and Hamas in and around Gaza, a truce that Abbas had called for after violence spiraled there earlier this month.

"Our prime minister, Salam Fayyad, went to meet your Defense Minister Ehud Barak. And whom did they send? Amos Gilad [a lower-level official]. Barak won't even see Fayyad," the younger Shehadeh said, referring to last week's meeting of a trilateral monitoring committee on the peace process. "So you killed one Mohammed Shehadeh. But as former Hezbollah leader Abbas Mussawi said, each time a drop of blood falls to the ground from the body of a shahid [martyr], Allah knows how to use that drop. Now all of Bethlehem will become Mohammed Shehadeh."

Outside the Shehadeh household, pessimism, frustration and desperation are everywhere. It seems that the people of this relatively peaceful West Bank city have given up all hope of seeing results from the attempt to revive the peace process that the United States, Israel and the PA began at last year's Annapolis Summit. They view the process as dying rapidly, making way for another round of violence with Israel.

Shehadeh's funeral, which he shared with the other three assassinated militants, was one of the largest the city has seen in recent years. Palestinian security forces estimate that it was attended by no less of 250,000 people.

"Me and my friends, we led this current intifada," said Abu Dib, who is serving in one of the PA security forces and says he is wanted by Israel for his role in the violence. "We are tired already. But these boys, they were 10 years old when the clashes began. Now they're 18, and they know nothing but war and violence with Israel."

Abu Dib speaks of "a whole new generation that grew up in the territories" and is more violent and radical. "They will be the ones who will lead the next confrontation," he predicted.



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      1.   And Neturei Karta didn`t kill the prophets?! 02:43  |  McQueen 18/03/08
      2.   This is insane 02:50  |  IsraFan 18/03/08
      3.   A whole new generation wasted. 03:01  |  MaryRose 18/03/08
      4.   Slain Jihad operative`s son: `Our entire family has turned Shi`it 03:20  |  E 18/03/08
      5.   Moslem vs Moslem 03:52  |  Avrum 18/03/08
      6.   can you give me one reason 04:19  |  jay 18/03/08
      7.   Israel assassinated the wrong group of guys at the wrong time 04:30  |  Harold 18/03/08
      8.   Sad Young Man 04:31  |  Doc Holliday 18/03/08
      9.   What a curious article 05:06  |  Mark Lincoln 18/03/08
      10.   "What have you achieved by killing my father?" 05:35  |  William 18/03/08
      11.   News flash: Islamic homicide bomber kills 40 Shite worshippers 05:46  |  Voice of Reason 18/03/08
      12.   Discord among muslim 05:50  |  ADEEL 18/03/08
      13.   More Islamic Lies 05:57  |  abba 18/03/08
      14.   MARK LINCOLN #26 07:16  |  JOJO (USA) 18/03/08
      15.   Move Left or Move Right? 07:20  |  Gilad 18/03/08
      16.   YES, I HOPE THEY WILL 07:31  |  indrajaya 18/03/08
      17.   the truth that Israel doesnt want to hear 08:08  |  Sarah 18/03/08
      18.   You make the bed that you sleep in Shehadeh Shehadeh 08:16  |  Proud Israeli 18/03/08
      19.   Whats the Point? 08:18  |  Hassan Abu Ghassan 18/03/08
      20.   The solution to terror. 08:30  |  Jean Van Daem 18/03/08
      21.   Mark Lincoln #9 on Shiism 08:35  |  S 18/03/08
      22.   dead terrorist`s sn 08:45  |  Hai 18/03/08
      23.   Poor Bethlehem.... once so Christian and now.... 08:57  |  Dagma 18/03/08
      24.   The BEGINNING....... 09:15  |  Dolly 18/03/08
      25.   The point of this sloppy piece 10:23  |  sh 18/03/08
      26.   Gilad (# 15) is correct, actually that`s kind of a "moderation" 10:29  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/03/08
      27.   #26, Dino 10:56  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 18/03/08
      28.   # 26, SWISS (DINO) RE: GILAD 11:12  |  indrajaya 18/03/08
      29.   He`s got the message. Israel isn`t interested in peace. 11:19  |  Michael 18/03/08
      30.   He said: "... Jews like Naturei Karta 12:05  |  Edith 18/03/08
      31.   Zionism feeds European racism 12:22  |  Edith 18/03/08
      32.   The USA lost more than 100,000 men 12:37  |  Mah Nishmah 18/03/08
      33.   to #23 12:43  |  N. Khoury 18/03/08
      34.   Jihad operative 12:47  |  Zev 18/03/08
      35.   The wise son`s question 12:53  |  Tosefta 18/03/08
      36.   ISRAEL`S POLICIES ARE "HIZBULLAISING" THE PALESTINIANS 12:56  |  TripleJump 18/03/08
      37.   To Edith: they don`t teach you history in Belgium? 12:58  |  AA 18/03/08
      38.   Ok, now Hizballah V. Hamas 12:58  |  Buzaglow 18/03/08
      39.   What is this article`s purpose? 13:07  |  DC 18/03/08
      40.   Shehadeh, nobody may avert the fate from you 13:10  |  Karl 18/03/08
      41.   TRIPLEJUMP HE quotes the QUR`AN.That`s their policies 13:17  |  PETER SM 18/03/08
      42.   The solution to the problem is clear 13:20  |  Nechama 18/03/08
      43.   Hizbulla 13:25  |  Barrie 18/03/08
      44.   So more Freedom Fighters have been creadted. 14:21  |  Doug 18/03/08
      45.   Israel sewing the seeds of hatred as usaul 14:23  |  SJ 18/03/08
      46.   AVI HAVE A GUT TO INTERVIEW HIM 14:44  |  indrajaya 18/03/08
      47.   IJ or Hizbullah, what`s the difference? 14:46  |  David Teich 18/03/08
      48.   37: AA, "a few hundred"?? 14:47  |  David Teich 18/03/08
      49.   Sara # 17 14:49  |  Avrum 18/03/08
      50.   SO WHAT? SOMEBODY THINKS THAT 14:50  |  Robert 18/03/08
      51.   Abba # 13 14:51  |  Avrum 18/03/08
      52.   BARBARIANS AT THE DOOR 15:06  |  GIBOR 18/03/08
      53.   turning hezbollah 15:18  |  mark nusbaum 18/03/08
      54.   We know where to send the next response 15:42  |  Gee 18/03/08
      55.   For Barak, preventative security takes priority 15:49  |  Sam 18/03/08
      56.   Then its sad for him and his family - hell is their future 15:55  |  S Judah 18/03/08
      57.   #12 ADEEL....in all reality 16:30  |  Lynn 18/03/08
      58.   #6 one good reason Israel wants it all to stop 16:30  |  Robert/Montreal 18/03/08
      59.   To N. Khoury, who summed it up so well 16:33  |  ZISD 18/03/08
      60.   Harold never listens only talks #7 16:33  |  Robert/Montreal 18/03/08
      61.   A `LULL` trying to work out a Truce ...??? 16:35  |  Dagma 18/03/08
      62.   Israeli terrorists hiding behind civilians 16:35  |  Black Israel 18/03/08
      63.   Sarah#17 suppose Fatah killed your dad or your brother? 16:36  |  Robert/Montreal 18/03/08
      64.   To abba # 13 -" The Vanguards of Islamic World 16:55  |  Dolly 18/03/08
      65.   Failures of making peace long ago, breeds radicalization... 17:01  |  Smadar 18/03/08
      66.   #31, Edith 17:01  |  hello 18/03/08
      67.   con`t Part II 17:10  |  Smadar 18/03/08
      68.   Black Israel is there no BS you can Provide? 17:23  |  Robert/Montreal 18/03/08
      69.   He is not all Palestinians and does not speak for all