Sabih Abu Saud example essay topic

On November 12, 2003 in the West Bank a Palestinian boy named Sabih Abu Saud blew himself up in a West Bank village. Sabih was only sixteen years old making him one of the youngest of over hundred suicide bombers to this day. Sabih was in pursuit of an Israeli jeep but was unsuccessful. The day after his death, something unusual happened; unlike the parents of many suicide bombers, Kamal Abu Saud did not praise his son. In the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the suicide bombers families have rarely viewed there loved ones as anything less than heroes after a suicide bombing. Mr. Saud surprisingly did not see the point of his son's actions and was only suffering from his son's demise.

Mr. Saud said, "As a father, I am angry about what happened" and if he had known his son's objectives "I would have prevented him, if I could". Mr. Saud's grief was not shared with anyone but himself, not even with his own wife and mother of Sabih. In the streets of Nablus and at the cemetery were posters hung of the teenager, "with a wisp of a mustache" and the young men in the streets viewing him as a martyr. At the funeral the mother of Sabih, Naval, picked up a megaphone and screamed to Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. "If Sharon wants peace, we are ready to make it, but if he wants war, I'll be the first to fight". After a suicide bombing Israel sometimes demolishes the homes of the murderer's families.

Israel says that destroying the homes serves as a reprimand and a disincentive. The family of Sabih now deals with the risk of having their home annihilated by Israeli troops for the second time. The first time was in 1986, when Nasser Abu Saud killed a Palestinian alleged of collaborating with Israel. The mother and father show two different ways of viewing the death of their son. The article focuses on the father because of the significant ostracizing that occurs because his views are different than those of his people.

The article overall shows both perspectives of the mother and the father. There is not too much about the Israel because the article focuses on the argument between the Palestinians and on the life of Sabih Abu Saud. As a child I never understood why someone could commit suicide and kill other innocent people along with them. As an adult I still don't understand how people could think that this is rational or anything less then horrifying. I am content to see that the father does not praise his son and hope that there are many others that feel the same way as Kamal Abu Saud. I think that maybe only once the suicide bombing cease that Israel and the Palestinians can finally have peace with one another.

The article could have further explained Israel's choice of tearing down homes of the attacker's families and the views of the Palestinians about the subject. I believe that Israel must do something to show that blowing yourself up will not be all that glorious and that your family will also suffer from it, not just by the death of the family member but also by the loss of something sacred like a families home. In this case the father does not support his son's actions and may still suffer the consequences but innocent Israelis also lose homes, building, and more importantly their loved ones.