A Palestinian father pushing his toddler son to provoke Israeli Border Police into shooting him. Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed outrage over a video of a Palestinian father pushing his four-year-old son toward Israeli border police, taunting them to shoot the boy.

“I’ve just watched a video that shook me to the core of my being. In just a few seconds, it shows why our conflict persists,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.

The father screams, “Shoot this little boy!” and “kill him” over and over to the soldiers . He tells his son “don’t be scared,” as he pushes him to the soldiers, but obviously scared, he reluctantly continues and one soldier gives the boy a high-five. Then, the father encouraged the boy to throw rocks at the soldiers.

“It’s hard to make a four-year-old hate,” Netanyahu said.

“Imagine your own child at that age. Think of his smile. Imagine her laugh. Picture the unrestrained joy and innocence that only a child possesses. Encouraging someone to murder a child – let alone your own child – is probably the most inhumane thing a person can do. What did this child do to deserve this? The answer is: nothing. He is innocent.”

Palestinian Media Watch found an edited version of the video from the official Palestinian Authority (PA) TV in which they deleted the high-five. The PA TV reporter said: “His son, who has yet to reach the age of five, also knows, despite his young age, that it is forbidden to shake hands with the soldiers, just as it is forbidden to make peace with them.”

Netanyahu said that Palestinian and Israeli children deserve to “live in peace.”

“I’m sure Palestinian parents, many of them, are as outraged as I am at this video. And today I appeal to every father and mother around the world. I ask you to join me in calling for an end to this abuse of children. The Palestinian leadership must stop encouraging children to kill. They must stop encouraging Palestinian parents to call for the death of their own children.”

Watch the video below: