Despite the alliteration in my headline, this is not at all funny. Terrorists of the Islamic Jihad brand sent a suicide bomber to the shopping mall in Netanya, Israel. So far, reports indicate 5 dead and fifty or more wounded. Here is a link to coverage in Haaretz
UPDATE: The names of the dead have been released. According to Haaretz:
The names of four out of the five victims were released: Alexandra Zarnitzki, 65, from Netanya; Daniel Golani, 45, from Nahariya; Eliyah Rozen, 38, from Bat Hefer; and Haim Amram, 26, from Netanya.
FURTHER UPDATE: Now all five names have been released and some of the murder victims have been buried. Here is more about them.
One of our readers has pointed out that Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas (AKA Abu Mazen) has agreed to make payments to families of suicide bombers:
Abbas Approves PA Assistance to Families of Suicide Bombers Jonathan D. Halevi (News First Class-Hebrew) NFC
On the very day of a suicide bombing in Netanya, it has been reported that the chairman of the Palestinian Authority gave budgetary approval to assistance for the families of suicide bombers.
Each martyr’s family will receive a monthly stipend of at least $250 from the PA.
The budget for families of martyrs, prisoners, and the wounded could reach $100 million a year out of an annual budget of over $1 billion.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the bomber was spotted as suspicious by a passerby and reported to a pregnant police officer, First Sergeant Major Shoshi Atiya, who followed and fingered him. Many lives were saved by their heroic actions and that of the security guards, one of whom died in the blast.