RUTHFULLY YOURS

In a grim reminder of the way Islamist groups exploit the young and vulnerable for terrorism, it is being reported that Hamas has held terror training camps for schoolboys this month, with plans outlined for similar camps for girls.

“We will restore the climate of jihad, martyrdom and sacrifice for the sake of Allah to all sectors of society… This is the generation of stones, tunnels and martyrdom operations.

“Today is the anniversary of the death of martyrdom-seeker Rim Al-Riyashi, [Hamas’ first female suicide bomber], a woman who gave up everything in her life in order to wage jihad for the sake of Allah,” the Middle East Media Research Institute, MEMRI, reported Hamas Prime Minister Isma’il Haniya as saying at a concluding event for the camps earlier in January.

He added that camps for girls should be established too, so that “they can follow the path of the martyrs”.

The Western public relies on groups such as MEMRI for information like this since it is not reported in mainstream outlets such as the BBC or CNN.

MEMRI said:

“In early January 2014, for the second time since August 2012, Hamas’s education and interior ministries held the “Futuwwa” (“Youth”) camps for Gaza schoolboys, in which the boys receive military training and indoctrination. This years’ camps were called “Talai’ Al-Tahrir” (“Liberation Pioneers”) and were attended by 13,000 students, compared to 5,000 in 2012.

“The camps involve activities such as weapons drills, target practice, close-order drills, obstacle courses and war games, as well as lessons in civil defense, first aid and handling emergency situations.”

Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel and is founded on the basis of extreme anti-Semitism calling for the murder of Jews. Its terror attacks are almost always directed at civilians, though its ability to carry out such attacks has been limited by Israeli security measures.