Israelis Thwart Palestinian 'Boy Bomber'

The boy was then ordered him to strip to his underwear and kneel on concrete checkpoint floor as soldiers thoroughly searched him. He was then seized by the soldiers and the explosives were later detonated in a controlled explosion.

A War of Images

In the high-stakes media war that goes on behind the scenes in the Middle East, the amazing scene of the young suicide bomber willing to kill himself to kill others was immediately seized by the Israeli officials.

Hours after his apprehension, Abdu was presented to international reporters at the Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus although he was not allowed to speak to foreign journalists.

More than three years after footage of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in his father's arms being shot by Israeli soldiers shocked the international community, Wednesday's disturbing images were splashed across the media today.

Israeli papers this morning bore headlines such as: "I wanted virgins in paradise" and "I wanted to become a man,'' plastered across pictures of Abdu with his explosives vest as news networks replayed the horrifying footage.

Israeli officials condemned the use of Palestinian children for suicide missions. "How is it possible that parents could allow their children to be sacrificed in order to kill the children of others," said Dore Gold, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, warning that the latest incident was a disturbing new face of terrorism.

Abdu's family, however, said the boy had developmental problems and criticized the way the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had paraded the boy before international reporters. In the deadly, acrimonious Mideast struggle, both sides, it seems, have understood the importance of images to make their points. And they have a captive world audience.