The young face of terrorism

This is Samer Samih Hamad. He is 17-years-old and has just etched himself into the Palestinian folklore.

For the Palestinians, Samer is a local lad who has attained martyrdom by being one of the youngest suicide bombers. He blew himself outside an old bus station in Tel Aviv on Sunday, killing 9 Israelis and injuring about 50 others.

For the Israeli authorities, he and his fellow teenage peers are the new, young face of terrorism that they will have to deal with from now on.

And for the rest of us, it is really sad that such a young boy is being used as a pawn in the fight between the Palestinians and Israelis. We feel and sympathise for teenagers like Samer and others for their loss of innocence and youth.

At an age where they should be enjoying their youth and exuberance, they are instead made to become human bombs, fighting for their land.

Just like banning the use of child soldiers, the international community could try to make it illegal to use teenagers as suicide bombers. But then, since when did we have terrorists acceding to the rules of law.

But above all, Samer, and other Palestinian teenagers, is not just moved by his dying love for his land, or by his pure hatred to the Israelis. For him, being a suicide bomber is a religious call. How can you counter?

Samer did what he did voluntarily. His parents and family understood his wishes. His neighbours think he has done justice for his people. Other Palestinians think he has just been a good Muslim.

Now the Israelis will surely retaliate to this latest round of bombing. They might even target young Palestinian boys as a preventive measure. And surely to counter that, more Palestinian teenagers will look for their own calls from above.

And thus continues this vicious cycle of violence in the Middle East.