Abdallah Barghouti, un vero uomo di pace, fabbricava bombe x Hamas.

Nov. 30, 2004 16:22 | Updated Dec. 1, 2004 0:17
Hamas bomb-maker gets 67 life terms
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH


Abdallah Barghouti charged with preparing the bombs that were used in three suicide bomb attacks in Jerusalem including the one at the Sbarro restaurant



Abdullah Barghouti, 31, a senior Hamas member and master bombmaker dubbed "the mechanic," was sentenced by the Judea Military Court to 67 consecutive life sentences for preparing the bombs used in a string of suicide bombings in 2001 and 2002.

In the attacks in Jerusalem, Rishon Lezion and Tel Aviv, 66 Israelis were killed and 500 wounded. The attacks included the August 2001 Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem, in which 15 Israelis were killed; the triple bombing at Jerusalem's Kikar Zion in December 2001, in which 10 Israelis were killed; the blast at the Moment Cafe in Jerusalem in March 2002, in which 11 Israelis were killed; and the Sheffield Club attack in Rishon Lezion in May 2002, in which 15 Israelis were killed.

Barghouti supplied the bomb for the attack at the Hebrew University cafeteria in July 2002, in which nine Israeli and foreign students were killed, and provided the explosives belt used in the attack on a No. 4 bus in Tel Aviv in July 2002, in which nine Israelis were murdered.

The sentencing was the most harsh handed down to a terrorist by the military court since the outbreak of violence four years ago. Barghouti was charged on 108 counts, ranging from intent to murder, attempted murder, undergoing military training, preparing explosives, belonging to an enemy organization, offering shelter to fugitives, possession of weapons.

Barghouti, a relative of Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving three life sentences in an Israeli jail, was born in Kuwait and arrived here in 1999. In December 2000, Barghouti and an accomplice plotted to abduct several soldiers.

In 2001, he joined the Hamas Izzadin Kassam military wing, and met with a senior Hamas member who taught him how to manufacture explosives and prepare bombs. In a short time, Barghouti became an expert bombmaker and began making bombs for Hamas and teaching others how to make them. In exchange for making bombs, Barghouti received $117,000 from Hamas members and $500 from Marwan Barghouti.

In June 2001, he received 15 kilograms of explosives, a handgun and ammunition clips; he then rented an apartment in El-Bireh and set up a bomb factory. By the end of the year he had set up several bomb factories in the area. At Marwan Barghouti's request, he also made two bombs that were to be used against soldiers in Ramallah.