Mustafa Fuqaha. Photo: PMW.

A Palestinian Authority (PA) mayor said on television that the Israel Defense Forces tries to bait Palestinian children into picking up explosives “shaped like pens and toys,” according to the latest report from Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) uncovering the demonization of the Jewish state.

Recently asked by a PA TV interviewer what types of explosives Israeli soldiers leave behind following training, Mustafa Fuqaha—mayor of the Palestinian village of Ein Al-Bayda in the Jordan Valley—responded: “Some [explosives] are in different shapes. Some are shaped like pens, and some look like toys. Some are in different shapes to tempt children to touch them or pick them up. This is a real danger and real proof that the Israeli army targets children and young ones.”

PA TV made a similar claim in 2003, according to PMW, broadcasting that Israel drops “bombs and mines designed as toys” from jet planes to lure Palestinian children into playing with them. Additionally, in 2001, the PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida said Israeli soldiers “threw large quantities of poisoned candies” in front of Palestinian schools.