Guardian glosses over military training in Gaza camps
Today’s Guardian reports on the array of summer camps on offer to the children of Gaza, namely those organised by UNRWA, Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
In ‘Playing politics: summer camp for Gaza's children,’ Middle East correspondent Harriet Sherwood makes clear the differences between the programme provided by the United Nations, which aims ‘to give the children a sense of fun and normality’ and ‘keep them away from troubles and politics’ and those run by the militant organisations, which teach that ‘Anyone who makes concessions on Palestine is making concessions on the Qur'an.’
The journalist includes quotes from a camp organiser, saying, ‘We believe in the right of resistance and we are against peace negotiations’ and explains that the camps ‘are seen by militant organisations as an opportunity to influence a generation of children’.
However, the article then euphemistically states that militants intend to ‘inculcate a duty to resist the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land’. This underplays the fact that these camps have been used to train children on how to conduct terrorist attacks against Israelis. Even when describing the militant activities in the camp, Sherwood does not explicitly discuss this controversial issue.
For example, she includes ‘military-style marching and exercises’ and ‘shooting as a sport’ among the activities the Palestinian children engage in, but she makes no comment on the implications, when there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this training leads directly to violence.
An info box alongside the article further emphasises this lack of attention to military training. Each camp has its interests described in a ‘themes’ section; the only reference to military activity is Islamic Jihad’s interest in ‘resistance’; indeed, the main purpose of the ‘themes’ category seems to be to contrast the focus of the militant groups (‘Jerusalem’, ‘occupation’, prisoners’ etc) with that of UNRWA (‘fun’).
All of this downplays the role that indoctrination of children plays in Gaza. Notable examples from Hamas-run media in the last few years have included children being presented with a reconstruction of their mother’s suicide-bomb attack, and a Mickey Mouse-type character that extols the necessity of violence. While Sherwood draws a clear distinction between the goals of UNRWA and those of militant organisations such Hamas and Islamic Jihad, it is noteworthy that no attempt is made to highlight how the latter specifically use these camps to provide their captive audiences with military training.