'God, make me a martyr'

Raiyshi dreamed of being the first female martyr

The pan-Arabic television station Al-Jazeera has broadcast a videotaped statement from the Hamas suicide bomber Reem Saleh Raiyshi.

Raiyshi - the first female suicide bomber to be used by Islamic militants - blew herself up on Wednesday at the Erez checkpoint between Israel and the Gaza Strip, killing at least four Israelis.

The following are excerpts from the broadcast statement.

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By God, my heart is full of many mixed feelings that I cannot control as though a thought is filling my mind, and living in my heart, a pleasant dream is gripping my body, and the beats of my heart say: "God, make me a martyr for your sake."

I have always wished, and went too far in wishing, that my body would be shrapnel that tears the sons of Zion, and I have always wished to knock at the door of heaven with the skulls of the sons of Zion.

By God, if you break my bones and cut off my body, you will not be able to change my faith or change my banner. This is my conviction...

I began to try to do my utmost after the second preparatory grade. I searched on a daily and continuous basis in the hope of finding someone who would guide or help me in anything.

By God, my search continued for years, but I did not feel bored even for one second or retreat in my mind. It was hard for me to find someone who would satisfy my desire; namely, martyrdom. I have always dreamt and wished to carry out a martyrdom-seeking an operation inside Israel, but did not manage.

I have always dreamt of sacrificing myself for the sake of God Almighty. By God, I wished to be the first female who carried out a martyrdom-seeking operation where my body would be scattered in the air.

This was my most wanted wish that I asked God Almighty to fulfil. Through strong persistence and by God's favour, my wish was fulfilled in the manner I wanted.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.