by Mark Ellis
At a celebratory parade in Bethlehem last week, young masked Palestinian children were dressed with “suicide belts” and equipped with “guns” and “RPGs”.
The celebration marked the 51st anniversary of the launch of the Fatah movement, the largest faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organization founded by Yasser Arafat.
Young children participated in the procession wielding toy weapons and “suicide belts,” according to a report by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). The celebration was attended by top Fatah and PA officials.
“Children were seen carrying models of RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and explosive belts, and they all walked through the alleys of the refugee camp in the procession, during which the sound of songs of the national revolution were heard.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 8, 2016]
PMW has documented previously that a key part of PA educational messages to children is promotion of violence and glorification of terrorists. Many believe the cycle of violence in the Middle East will not end as long as children are schooled in terrorist ideology.
The Fatah movement recently expressed official support for Nashat Melhem, who killed 3 Israeli civilians at the beginning of this month in Tel Aviv.
The movement “opened a mourning tent for the heroic Martyr (Shahid) Nashat Melhem” on the official Facebook
page of the Fatah Movement and stated their “congratulations and may Allah receive you in Heaven.”
Fatah has also glorified Muhannad Halabi, who stabbed two Israeli civilians to death has been called a “hero” and honored as the one who sparked the “Jerusalem Intifada”:
The following is the report in the official PA paper on the rally with children holding weapons:
Headline: “Fatah marked the anniversary of the Launch in Bethlehem”
“The Fatah movement in Bethlehem marked the 51st anniversary of the Launch (Intilaqa) with a huge ceremony in the Deheisheh refugee camp yesterday [Jan. 7, 2015]. Thousands set out from three [different] places in processions that passed through a number of streets in the district and met at the Martyr’s Tower in the Deheisheh refugee camp, where a speech rally was held in the presence of Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul, Head of the General Intelligence Services Majed Faraj, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rula Ma’ay’a and dozens of the movement’s leaders in the district.
“At the head of the procession, which began at the President [Yasser Arafat]’s Airstrip at the top of the Zaher Hill in the Deheisheh refugee camp, stood masked men, and behind them walked children who wore black shirts with pictures of the deceased president Yasser Arafat and Martyr (Shahid) Jihad Al-Ja’afari, called ‘Gaddafi’, under the name ‘death squads.’
“Likewise, children were seen carrying models of RPGs (i.e., rocket projected grenades) and explosive belts, and they all walked through the alleys of the refugee camp in the procession, during which the sound of songs of the national revolution were heard.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 8, 2016]
Dear Mr. Ellis:
What propaganda! I google-searched this and every single article on the web was either by an Israeli source or strongly pro-Israel source. I’d estimate 80-90% were from Israeli sources. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida has an English version of it’s newspaper. If everything in your article which claims to be a quote from Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, then why pray tell, is there nothing on the web from the newpaper itself about this? Why is there nothing from neutral international organizations or journalists? Why wasn’t this horrific story picked up by the British, American, or other international media sources?
This is nothing more than fear-mongering by the Israeli gov’t. One of the photos, in fact, was tweeted by an official in the Israeli gov’t. Other photos were taken 20 years ago. And I would expect that yet others were staged by Jewish settler terrorists.
I am disappointed and dismayed that Godreports would print something this inflammatory without first checking the sources.
If you want to know what is really happening, I recommend reading B’Tselem’s reports. They are a nonprofit organization comprised of Israeli Jews that reports on what is happening in Gaza & the West Bank. I have read broadly & deeply and given lectures on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and I consider B’Tselem the most accurate source of information. So do other organizations & news sources. Another source of statistics is ifamericansknew.org
Since Oct. 1, 2000, approximately 1,220 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians and 9,300 Palestinians have been killed by Palestinians. 11,675 Israelis and 87,000 Palestinians have been injured 133 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 2,100 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis. Zero Israelis are being held prisoner by Palestinians, while 6,700 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel. 28,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished, leaving these families homeless. 261 Israeli settlements have been built on Palestinian land (generally from land confiscated without compensation from Palestinian homeowners, shepherds & farmers). No Palestinian settlements have been built on Israeli land. The Israeli unemployment rate is 6%, while the Palestinian unemployment in the West Bank is 16% and because of Israel’s complete blockade, 45% in Gaza.
Now, tell me–is there any wonder anger among Palestinians has built up to the boiling point? If your grandparents had their land taken from them, forcing them to live in refugee camps, if you had your home demolished to make room for a new Israeli settlement (illegal by international law), if tanks regularly rolled down your streets, if soldiers burst into your homes in the middle of the night and made your children line up at gunpoint in order to terrorize them, if your children were stopped at gunpoint & frisked by soldiers, on their way to school, would you passively accept it decade after decade? In fact, many Palestinians participate regularly in nonviolent marches of protest, often led by Christian church leaders, but even those are fired on by IDF soldiers–with live bullets.
Now tell me: who terrorizes whom?
There is so much more data that I could cite, but I hope that this little bit–statistics & data to which Netanyahu would never admit, but which can be verified from independent sources–will give you the other side of the picture. That is why the majority of those working for Palestinian human rights are either Israeli or Jewish American groups. Why is that? What information do they have that is never reported in the media?
I’m afraid that I find this article so unsubstantiated I will no longer be reading news from Assist or Godreports, for how can I trust other news reports that I read? I sincerely hope that you will research the topic and hear what Palestinian church leaders and Israeli human rights groups are saying.
Cindy,
I have seen the photographic and video evidence for the parade that took place January 7th.
Here is a link to additional photos and video:http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8941.htm
I have a love for the Jewish and the Palestinian people and acknowledge there are horrible abuses and injustices on both sides.
The only one who can bring peace is Jesus, and until He returns, that will be one heart at a time.
I will check out B’Tselem.
So how do you explain the photos, some of which were taken by Reuters News Service?
Palestinians and Muslims really don’t want peace. This is the proof. They are liars. The Qur’an orders them to lie to Non-Muslims to cheat them and deceive them. If they stopped their terror attacks and stopped waging war, there really might be peace. Until then, pay no attention to their whining.
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