Reem Riyashi
Palestinian militant (1981–2004)
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Reem Saleh Riyashi (Arabic: ريم صالح الرياشي, romanized: Rīm Ṣāliḥ ar-Riyāshī; 1981 or 1982–14 January 2004) was a Palestinian suicide bomber from Gaza City who killed herself and four Israelis at the Erez crossing[2] on 14 January 2004. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed that the attack by Riyashi was a joint operation mounted as a response to weeks of Israeli incursions into West Bank cities that had left about 25 Palestinians dead.
1981 or 1982
Reem Riyashi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Reem Saleh Riyashi 1981 or 1982 Sheik Ajlin, Gaza City, Gaza Strip[1] |
| Died | (aged 22)[1] Erez Crossing, Southern District, Israel |
Cause of death | Suicide bombing |
| Children | 2 |
Life and videotaped message
Reem Riyashi was born in 1981 or 1982 in Sheik Ajlin, Gaza City, Gaza Strip.[1] Unlike most bombers, Riyashi came from a wealthy family. She was the eighth Palestinian female suicide bomber, and the second to have left behind children.[3] Riyashi was the first female suicide bomber sent by Hamas,[2] whose spiritual leader at the time, Ahmed Yassin had initially objected to the involvement of women in such actions, altering this position shortly before his assassination by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in March 2004.[4] After having two children, Riyashi recorded a message, during which she expressed her dreamed of being the first woman turning "my body into deadly shrapnel against the Zionists" since she was 13. She added that, while she did love her children, her love to see Allah was stronger.[3]
Attack
On 14 January 2004, Riyashi detonated a 2 kg bomb inside the Erez Crossing, a border crossing where thousands of Palestinians who cross each day from Gaza to work in a neighbouring industrial zone are processed.[3] The IDF reported that when she reached the metal detector at the terminal, Riyashi pretended to be disabled and claimed to have metal plates in her leg that sounded the alarm. She asked to have a body search instead. After being taken to an area where a group of soldiers and policemen were checking bags, she was told to wait for a woman to come and search her in a cubicle. It was then that she detonated the explosive device, which killed herself, two Israeli soldiers, a policeman and a civilian security worker, and injured seven other Israelis and four Palestinians.[3]
Victims
Reactions
Family reaction
At the time of Riyashi's death, her son Obeida was three years old, and her daughter Doha 18 months old.[9] A traditional memorial tent was immediately set up by her family near her home in Gaza City.[3] Riyashi's relatives had no explanation for why a mother with children so young would choose to become a suicide bomber.[3] Her brother-in-law, Yusuf Awad, denounced the attack, adding that "we don't accept women doing such things."[3]
Palestinian public
Criticism of the operation in the Palestinian press was unprecedented.[10] Hamas received widespread criticism among Palestinians and some supporters for deploying a young mother as a suicide bomber and for publishing photographs of Riyashi posing with her children and weapons.[9] In one photograph, Riyashi's son is clutching what appears to be a mortar shell and is wearing a Hamas headband while another picture shows Riyashi gazing at her children.[9]
Hamas defended its decision to release the photographs stating that the pictures revealed the depth of the despair of Palestinian women and the depth of their desire to defeat the occupation.[9] Sheikh Ahmad Yassin said that Riyashi's example would inspire more women to die in the fight against Israel, urging more to volunteer.[9] Hani Almasri, a Palestinian journalist at Al-Ayyam, told the Associated Press that Hamas' decision to release the photographs damaged the Palestinian cause and that Hamas would gain little advantage by these actions since in his opinion, there was less support from among the Palestinian people for military operations than had been the case previously.[9]
Reactions in the Arab world
In other countries of the Arab world, such as Egypt and Lebanon, Riyashi's suicide was met with support, and she was labelled a shahida. A 15 January editorial in the Egyptian government-owned daily Al Gomhuria stated that Reem performed the attack as a response to Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon telling the Knesset of a plan to unilaterally separate the Palestinians, which he would impose within six months.[11] Walid Jumblatt, Lebanese Member of Parliament and head of the Progressive Socialist Party, said that Riyashi's attack "offered hope in a sea of complacency, indecisiveness, and fear" that went against the ongoing Israelization of Palestine.[11] Nour Al-Din, on the other hand, took issue with the use of a young mother for such an operation, writing that such an action would, "send several negative messages" that will escalate into further attacks against the Israelis.[11]
Cultural depictions
Riyashi's children appeared on a 2009 episode of Palestinian children's TV show Tomorrow's Pioneers.[12][13] The hosts create a musical re-enactment video of Riyashi's preparation for martyrdom that they display for the children in an attempt to explain Riyashi's patriotism. The episode ends with Riyashi's eldest daughter vowing to become a jihadi martyr when she grows up, and then Saraa delivers a stern warning addressed to "the occupier" that they "will continue in the footsteps of ... Reem Riyashi ... until [they] liberate [their] homeland."[14]