20 Years to proud sick "Palestinian" parents' 'baby bomber' pic that shocked the world

Submitted by Nir (United States), Aug 1, 2022 at 10:26

https://jr.co.il/terror/israel/ter1859b.jpg

Palestinian baby picture stirs anger
Associated Press June 30, 2002

Despite denials by the Palestinian Authority that it was authentic, the family of a Palestinian baby photographed wearing a mock suicide bomber's uniform replete with sticks of "explosives" and the traditional martyr's red headband confirmed that the photograph was real.
A man who identified himself as the baby's uncle in a television interview with the British Sky News network said, "It was originallytaken during a rally or a graduation party at the university." He was filmed from the back in low light to conceal his identity at his request.
"This is cheap Israeli propaganda," said PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. "They are using this photo to justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and to go on with their occupation of the Palestinian territories. These photos can easily be forged and distributed, and this has been done by the Israeli media several times before."
Dore Gold, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the picture "symbolizes the incitement and hatred which the Palestinian leadership has been using to brainwash an entire generation of Palestinian children."
But Palestinian Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib insisted it was understandable that Palestinians would teach their children violence toward Israelis.
The army, he said, distributed the picture to "tell the world that the Palestinians are teaching their children how to hate Israel and how to act against Israel and I just want to say this is correct."
He said he is against suicide bombings, which the PA officially condemns, and denied his words were an endorsement of them. Rather, he said, suicide bombings are an "unfortunate but inevitable" result of the Israeli occupation, noting polls have found a majority of Palestinians support them.
Pictures of older children dressing as suicide bombers are not uncommon, and a boy about 10 was seen at a Hamas rally on Friday wearing fake explosives around his waist.
The IDF also released a collection of video footage Friday it said came from media in the Arab world, including Hizbullah's Al-Manar television station in Lebanon, of children as young as about five dressed in play explosives.
Still, the picture of such a young baby dressed as a suicide bomber was unusual.
Col. Miri Eisin, a senior army intelligence analyst, said the ammunition strapped to the baby probably was not real.
But she said the picture, which was found Tuesday in the family album of a senior Hamas fugitive, showed Palestinians were educating their children to embrace violence. The army distributed the photo to the media on Thursday.
"I think it's important for the world, as for us, to understand the depth of what we talk about when we say Palestinian reforms," Eisin said, repeating a call by Israeli and US leaders for the Palestinians to reform their leadership.
Eisin said she did not know if the baby was the Hamas activist's son or relative, and said soldiers photographed the picture and left the original in the family album. She said the soldiers had been looking in the album for an up-to-date picture of the wanted Palestinian, whom she refused to identify.
https://jr.co.il/terror/israel/babypicture.txt

The picture of a Palestinian baby dressed as a suicide bomber found in Hebron.
IDF

Last update - 09:40 29/06/2002

PA minister: Israelis shouldn't be shocked by 'baby bomber' pic
By Ha'aretz Service and agencies

A Palestinian cabinet minister said Friday that Israelis should not be shocked by the picture of a Palestinian baby photographed wearing a mock suicide bomber's uniform - replete with sticks of 'explosives' and the traditional martyr's red headband.

Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib said the IDF distributed the picture to "tell the world that the Palestinians are teaching their children how to hate Israel and how to act against Israel - and I just want to say this is correct."

Khatib said he opposes suicide bombings, but called the attacks "an unfortunate but inevitable outcome of the Israeli atrocities."

The baby's family told Sky News on Friday that the costume was nothing more than a 'joke.'

The Israel Defense Force published the photograph Thursday, saying that it had been removed from an album found in the house of a suspected terrorist in Hebron. The house was later destroyed.

The authenticity of the photograph could not be verified, but its publication in Israeli newspapers on Friday triggered a new war of words between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

A Palestinian journalist in the Hebron area said she did not believe the picture was a fake and expressed surprise at the furor it caused in Israel.

"I can find you many, many photos like this," she told DPA. "Many kids imitate adults and wear toy masks and guns, especially during marches. It's not strange at all.

She added that she had seen children as young as the one in the photograph wearing similar costumes.

"In our society it happens a lot. It's a kind of phenomenon," she said, adding blue eyes were also not rare in Hebron.

The army did not release the name of the family or say whether it thought the bomb-belt was real.

"What is obvious is that Palestinians are feeding the hatred of Jews and Israelis to their children at the earliest possible age," said David Baker, an official in the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Palestinian officials dismissed it as a propaganda trick.

"This is cheap Israeli propaganda. They are using this photo to justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and to go on with their occupation of the Palestinian territories," Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said.

"These photos can easily be forged and distributed, and this has been done by the Israeli media several times before."

Ordinary Palestinians said if the photograph were genuine it was likely the child had been dressed up for fun and did not mean Palestinians were about to use children in suicide bombings.

Children have been seen dressed up as suicide bombers at school ceremonies and rallies supporting militants spearheading a 21-month-old uprising...
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http://web.archive.org/web/20170326123810/http://www.factsofisrael.com/blog/archives/000134.html

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Related:

Boy used as bomb dupe

From AP, with thanks to Jean-Luc:

ISRAELI troops yesterday arrested a boy, 12, who didn't know he had a bomb in his schoolbag.
Security officials said the boy, who worked as a porter helping to carry the belongings of Palestinians forbidden to drive through a Nablus checkpoint, was hired to carry baggage by militants linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
But he did not know the contents of the backpack.
The commander of the army unit that caught the boy said soldiers' suspicions were aroused by the weight of the school bag. When they examined it, they found a bomb, laced with nuts and bolts to increase its killing power.
"It was a pretty serious bomb, between 7kg and 10kg," the officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Guy, said. "It was ready for detonation, apparently with a mobile phone."
Officials said the militants planned to explode it as the boy passed through the checkpoint, but it failed because of a technical fault. The explosion would have killed the boy and nearby soldiers.
Security sources said the boy was freed after several hours' questioning.
Israeli security officials said the army had received intelligence warnings of an attempt to mount an attack from Nablus.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday ruled out peace talks with Palestinians and began considering ways to retaliate for a weekend double suicide bombing that killed 10 Israelis.
"Israel will have to act according to its own understanding alone," he said, referring to his proposal for a unilateral withdrawal from most or all of Gaza, removal of Jewish settlements, and a realignment in the West Bank that would include evacuating some settlements and imposing a border.

http://web.archive.org/web/20040626033515/http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/001190.php
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8986589%255E663,00.html

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