In
the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict,
Palestinian militant groups have recruited minors to attack Israeli targets,
both military and civilian, especially during the Second
Intifada. In some
cases these attacks have been suicidal.
Most
suicide bombers in the Middle East are chosen as teenagers, “educated,” and
then sent off to perform their duty when they are in their late teens or early
to mid-twenties. Once recruited, children and teenagers are encouraged to cut off contact with
"real world" affairs and subjected to an intense program of memorization
and repetition of the Qur'an
In the
Palestinian territories, there currently exists a "cult of
martyrdom". From a very young age children are socialized into a group
that honors "martyrs", which includes human bombers who have given
their lives for the fight against what is perceived by Palestinians to be the
unjust occupation of their lands.Young
children are told stories of these ”heros”. There are necklaces, posters,
commercials, and media that young people look up too that show martyrs in a
positive and influential light.
Each act
of suicide terrorism is also marked by a last testament and video, which are
prepared ahead of time so they can later reach great popularity when the video
is played on television.
Major Palestinian
armed groups have publicly disavowed the use of children in military
operations, but those stated policies have not always been implemented. Some
leaders, including representatives of Islamic Jihad and Hamas, have said that
they consider children of 16 to be adults. Israeli government policy in the
Occupied Territories defines Palestinians under the age of 16 as minors while
Israeli children in the same territories are considered minors until they reach
the age of 18.
No comments:
Post a Comment