The tale starts with a little boy excitedly awaiting a gift that his mother promised him for finishing his food. However his mother shocks him: Instead of handing him a toy she hands him a rifle.
By ITAMAR MARCUSFATAH GUNMEN hold rifles during a demonstration in the West Bank.(photo credit: REUTERS)
What does it mean for a little boy to be “ammunition”?That is the question the UN Human Rights Council, UNICEF and every Palestinian child should be asking now that Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah has declared that Palestinian boys should forget toys, forget childhood, and forget having a future – because they are merely “ammunition” and destined for “martyrdom.”That is the unimaginable message that Palestinian Media Watch uncovered in a tale recited by a young Palestinian girl in a video that Fatah posted on its official Facebook page.The tale starts with a little boy excitedly awaiting a gift that his mother promised him for finishing his food. However his mother shocks him: Instead of handing him a toy she hands him a rifle.These are the appalling words that follow:“He shouted loudly: ‘O Mommy! Mommy! What is this? Is this the gift?’“She picked him up, hugged him, and said: ‘My son, we were not created for happiness.... They are cursed. Jerusalem is ours, our weapon is our Islam, and our ammunition is our children. And you, O my son, are meant for martyrdom.”Is this anything but child abuse? Fatah is using the social media giant Facebook to tell its quarter-million Palestinian followers that Jerusalem is “theirs”, that Islam is the “weapon,” and that Palestinian boys are the “ammunition.” And shockingly, this formula is coming from the person who should be a child’s champion, defender and source of security: his mother.But the story doesn’t end here. After the boy’s spontaneous and normal reaction of fear (“the boy complained to his pillow, for he is too young for these things”), he dreams that a bride – Jerusalem – calls to him personally to come and free her: “O my knight, release me from the handcuffs.”The young Palestinian boy, who just moments ago only wanted to play with toys, now knows that his purpose in life is to take Jerusalem from the “cursed” Jews/Israelis. But how will he do this?
His “bride” supplies the answer: “I, Jerusalem, say this to you: ‘What was taken by force will only be returned by force.’”The boy wakes up, understanding now why his mother gave him a rifle, and he immediately embraces his violent destiny: To “live the remainder of his day, saying: ‘What was taken by force will only be returned by force’ while carrying in one hand the rifle.”SIGNIFICANTLY, THE responses to this odious message show how the Palestinian Authority has totally twisted the minds of its adult population. This poem by a young girl was first broadcast on a private Palestinian radio station. The radio host was so elated that first she applauded and then hailed the little girl, “My darling, my love, well done! Come here so I can kiss you. I can’t continue the conversation without kissing you.”Then compounding the damage, the PA’s ruling Fatah movement decided that this message should have a broader impact, and posted the video of the young girl’s recital on Facebook so that all Fatah’s young followers could learn that are merely “ammunition.”The disturbing question is: Why would Fatah take an unknown tale with an abusive message and give it such extensive exposure? The answer touches at the heart of the PA ideology and everything that is wrong with the PA leadership. Whereas this broadcast was remarkable in its poignancy, the PA has been brainwashing Palestinian children to aspire to martyrdom for more than 20 years. In the last month alone, official PA TV has had several children recite poems lauding violence and martyrdom on programs for kids.In a studio filled with young children a girl recited, “I am the Palestinian lion cub / The blood of the martyrs flows in my veins / I harvest the souls in the fields / The dark-eyed [virgins] yearn for me / I carry my shrouds.”Another young girl narrated: “O my homeland / With blood we have woven the shrouds.”Ironically, the ICC recently announced that it is considering investigating Israel for so-called “war crimes,” while the real criminals – the Palestinian Authority leaders – are abusing children, raising them to kill and be killed, right in front of the many international organizations that claim they are concerned about children’s welfare.Why are there no reports by the UN Human Rights Council and UNICEF calling to defend Palestinian children from their leaders? Why are none of the self-proclaimed defenders of human rights, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, seeking protection for these children, and condemning, isolating and seeking prosecution of the child abusing PA?The evidence is clear in the hundreds if not thousands of examples documented by Palestinian Media Watch over the last 20 years – available for viewing by any international institution that decides to take the well-being of Palestinian children seriously. Palestinian children have the right to be brought up not as mere “ammunition.”The writer is director of Palestinian Media Watch and was recognized among the world’s “top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life or the State of Israel” by The Algemeiner newspaper.
