Palestinian Summer Camps Glorify Terrorists as Attacks Targeting Israelis Surge
by Steven Emerson
Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) continue to brainwash the next generation of Palestinian youth to become terrorists, even as attacks against Israelis have increased sharply in the last few days.
This summer, Palestinian children attended summer camps that were named after terrorists who killed Israelis, reports Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). In Jerusalem, one camp was named after Baha Alyan — a terrorist who participated in the murder of three Israelis last October.
The camp is affiliated with the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Education and is organized “under the supervision of the [PLO] Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs.” The council is led by Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub, according to an August 14 independent Palestinian news agency report translated by PMW.
In Bethlehem, children participated in the “Martyr Mamoun Al-Khatib Camp,” named after a 16-year-old terrorist who attempted to stab and kill an Israeli civilian in December.
Speaking at the camp’s opening event, PLO official Najeh Al-Izza stressed that “the Supreme Council is focusing on the youth sector, as it is the foundation for the future and the hope of the present.”
With rampant incitement thriving among notable sectors of Palestinian society and across the political spectrum, it comes as no surprise that several Palestinian terrorist attacks occurred this past week.
On Monday, Israeli border police foiled another stabbing attempt in Hebron, the eighth attack targeting Israelis in the past four days. Earlier in the day, a terrorist stabbed two border officers from behind, seriously wounding both of the Israelis before being shot outside Jerusalem’s Old City. The terrorist, who was from the tumultuous Ras al-Amud neighbourhood in eastern Jerusalem, remains in critical condition. One of the Israeli officers is still unconscious due to a neck injury she sustained. On Friday and Saturday, Palestinians stabbed and injured two soldiers in Hebron.
While the significant spike in Palestinian terrorism that started last October has largely waned in recent months, these recent incidents suggest a new wave cannot be discounted. Official Palestinian incitement plays a defining role in encouraging these attacks, proving that the Palestinian leadership is more concerned with enabling violence than promoting peace.
Steven Emerson is the Executive Director the Investigative Project on Terrorism (www.investigativeproject.org) where this article first appeared.