Muhammad most common name among martyred

Most of Palestinians martyred by Israeli forces during the second Intifada had traditional Palestinian Islamic names, a new study shows.

The study by Mahdi Jaradat, a researcher in Palestinian affairs, found that 11 male names and six female names dominate the list of names of Palestinians martyred during the Intifada between 29 September 2000 and 4 July 2008.

The findings of the study were as follows:

Among Palestinians killed in the first have of 2008, 830 were named Muhammad (up from 700 in all of 2007); 308 were named Ahmad (up from 160 in 2007); 135 were named Ibrahim (up from 101 in 2007).

Another 87 were named Yousif, 69 were named Iyad, 64 named were Hasan, 63 named 'Alaa and 58 were named Abdullah.

As for female "martyrs," 26 were named Fatima, 14 Eiman, 11 Maryam, 9 'Aesha and 7 named Muna and 7 named Asma'.

Jaradat said his study attempts to answer the question "Why does Israeli army deliberately and mercilessly kill civilians regardless of their gender or age?" He is currently preparing a report about the identities of the victims of the present conflict, which will be released on the ninth anniversary of the Intifada in September.

According to Jaradat, his forthcoming study will reveal "the real number of martyrs, which is expected to surprise everyone."