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Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Evidence mounts of child terrorists in Gaza, but no one reports it

Here is part of a Harvard Medical School podcast with plastic surgeon Sumner Slavin who, after spending time in the Middle East, started a fellowship program to teach plastic surgeons from the region advanced techniques and procedures.

Audio is here, start at about 7:15.
Despite the conflict, some amazing things happened.

To give you an example: About a year or two ago, a Palestinian boy in the Gaza Strip threw a grenade at Israeli soldiers. A not unusual event. In doing so, because he was ten years old, he blew his arm off. His arm was on the ground. The soldiers picked him up, and his arm, lifted him by helicopter from the Gaza Strip to Beersheba.

A team of microsurgeons went to work immediately to restore the arm and reconnect it. Both of those were plastic surgeons trained in microsurgery here.

They were successful; the boy's arm was reattached, he was returned to the Gaza Strip.
This is not an isolated incident, as Dr. Slavin indicates. There is evidence that recruiting children for fighting is widespread in Gaza -  including pre-teens.

In a pro-terror message forum, the obituary for nine-year old Obaid Fadel Abu Hwaisehl says that he was killed helping his uncle performing jihadi tasks. The boy was buried with full Hamas honors and wrapped in its flag, just like mujahadin.


Using the most recent list of Gaza dead that included ages and genders, 88 out of 124 kids from ages 9-17 were boys - 70%. The ratio goes up the older the teens are, from 62% of those 9-11 to 79% of those between 15-17.  

It is apparent that terror groups are recruiting teens. The statistical evidence indicates that recruitment is happening much earlier. One would expect a similar amount of boys and girls being killed in Gaza, but that simply isn't the case.

We already know that Hamas gives paramilitary training to teens in high school and  to younger children in summer camps.

But no "human rights' group is even looking at this.


On the contrary, NGOs like "Defense for Children International - Palestine" go out of their way to hide the issue of child fighters, identifying them as innocent victims even when other NGOs admit that they were militants.

The world media has no hesitation reporting about child terrorists in ISIS. Why are those in Gaza being ignored?

(h/t Jason, Bob Knot)