Palestinian Youth Sacrificed as Political Camera Fodder

YOWUSA.COM, 14-November-00
Dave Puckett

Does the Palestinian Authority (PA) use violence against children as a political weapon against Israel? A recent incident where a young boy, Muhammad al Dura, was literally shot to death in front of a news video camera appears to be due to Israeli gunfire. However, a post-shooting analysis shows that Palestinian gunmen, who chose to sacrifice him for a new coup, may very well have executed the youth.

World Watches as 12-Year-Old Palestinian Boy is Shot to Death

On October 1, 2000, a young Palestinian boy, Muhammad al Dura, was shot to death as he and his father happened to walk into the scene of a battle between Palestinian snipers and Israeli soldiers.

As the two hid behind a barrel a number of shots hit the wall behind the boy and his father. Then one fatal shot hit the boy in the stomach.

The shooting incident was caught on news video camera and is used as a rally call for the Palestinians.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) accepted responsibility for the shooting and called for and investigation into the shooting death of the boy.

IDF Investigates and Re-enacts Shooting

An investigation and re-enactment of the shooting death of a young Palestinian boy has shown that Israeli gunfire was not responsible. Israel had accepted responsibility shortly after the incident, and then called for the investigation and re-enactment. The report that follows explains the findings of investigation which are: PALESTINIANS, NOT ISRAELIS, KILLED THE 12-YEAR-OLD BOY

An IDF investigation and re-enactment appears to show conclusively that the 12-year-old boy from Gaza, Muhammad al-Dura, was not shot by Israeli soldiers - but was rather the victim of a cruel plot staged by Palestinian sharpshooters and possibly a television cameraman.

The incident in question occurred on Oct. 1, 2000, when the boy and his father happened to be walking past the scene of a major battle between Palestinian snipers and Israeli soldiers.

Former IDF sniper Yosef Doriel, who initiated the re-enactment, said that he had several reasons to suspect that the Israelis did not shoot the boy. "For one thing, the boy and his father were hiding behind and to the left of a barrel that was between them and the Israeli forces," he told Arutz-7 today.

"In the video clip, you see four clean bullet holes to the side of them. The Israelis did not shoot these. They are 'clean' and full holes, not mere grazes that would have been formed by the 30-degree angle of the Israelis.

Palestinians stationed more directly in front of the father and son made those bullet holes to be sure that the two would stay put. Suddenly, you see the boy lying down in his father's lap, with another bullet hole in the wall directly behind him. Again, it could not have come from the IDF position, behind and to the side of the barrel. It could only have come from the Palestinian position, which was more directly in front of the father and son. This bullet went through his stomach and out of his back. At that point in the video, you can hear the firing - but the Israeli position was far away!

Rather, what happened was that a Palestinian advanced to a spot very close to the photographer, and shot the fatal shot. You can also notice that at that moment of the fatal shots, the photographer suddenly 'shook' and the picture was blurred - a signal that the shots came from close to him."

Doriel and a fellow physicist, Nachum Shachaf, proposed that O.C.Southern Command Yom Tov Samiyeh oversee a re-enactment of the entire incident, complete with the barrel and life-size dummies. Doriel concludes: "The Palestinian forces staged the event. The Israelis were firing, for sure - but the fatal shots came not from them, but from the Palestinian position in front of the boy, behind the cameraman."

The Role of Media Coverage

We can now see that the Palestinian gunman shot this boy. So why would Israel take the blame for such a horrendous act? One answer might be found in the media coverage of the incident.

When the shooting happened, it was on the front pages and Israel did not want to let it drag on and on, as the media had already condemned Israel for the boy's death, in much the same way they rushed to judgment in the Presidential Election.

Without an impartial evaluation from the media, it was impossible for Israel to get fair break. With the media patently biased in regards to the reporting of this story, Israel had no other choice than accept responsibility before a full investigation could be conducted. Otherwise, the biased media circus that was unfairly blaming Israel for the boy's death would have dragged on and on. As the old saying goes, "don't confuse me with facts, I've already made up my mind." The Israeli government is facing this situation with the media.

How the Palestinians Train and Use Their Children

The children of Palestine are taught at a very young age to hate and to fight against the Israelis and Jews. They are taught to hate members of all religions other than their own. These children are taught to fight at whatever cost to obtain the goal of Jerusalem and a Palestine state. Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat has repeated said that the Intifada will not end until a Palestinian child places the Palestinian Flag over Jerusalem. The emphasis is on "child." Why would the people of Palestine want to place their children in such dangerous situations?

We see these children in the media spotlight everyday, throwing rocks and cocktail bombs, brandishing and shooting handguns and automatic weapons. It seems that these children are always on the front lines, fighting with the adults. The children perform for the cameras by throwing rocks, while the adult soldiers and citizens are firing from behind the cameras.

Placing these children between the weapons is a sure way to shoot and kill them, by accident or by the judgment. We can clearly see that the Palestinians show little care for their own children and that is equally troubling for Americans and Isralies alike.

War is Not a Game and Children Are Not Puppets
by Dr. Issac Kadman, Director General
Israel National Council for the Child
November 5, 2000

You don't have to be a Palestinian nowadays to feel shocked and saddened by the numbers of youths and children who have been wounded and killed in the wave of rioting that has engulfed the West Bank and Gaza in recent weeks.

You don't have to be an Israeli nowadays to feel frustrated and angry at what appears to be the cynical positioning - or at least the condoning - of Palestinian children in the front lines of the struggle, as if they were guerilla fighters.

It doesn't matter at all what your political leanings are, who you tend to side with in the Arab-Israeli conflict, or who is right or wrong for that matter. Regardless, there must be agreement on one point. We must remove the children from the battlefield. Children shouldn't be parties to conflict or to war. They shouldn't be placed in the front lines. They should not be the victims of adults. They should not die.

What does it matter to a dead child if he is a symbol or a martyr, a victim or a news item? What good is a dead symbol?

Other Uses of Children by Arab Cultures

Children have long been trained and used as pawns by Arab cultures. A chilling example of these child sacrifices happened during the Iran-Iraq War.

Young boys were asked, by Iranians soldiers, to volunteer to walk through Iraqi mine fields, in search of land mines.

These children died horrible deaths as they cleared the minefields for the Iranians, so they could attack the Iraqi positions.

You ask, "How many of these children died as pawns for the Iranians?" The answer is something only God and the men who sent them to their deaths could only know.

The Killing of Children
for Political Aims Must Stop

If Israel is to be held accountable for it's actions, the Palestinians must likewise be held responsible for it's own actions, beginning with the use of children for political gain.

The world must recognize that this is happening everyday. Their elders place children in danger, and the world must do everything in its power stop the killing of children for political and religious gain.