Wednesday evening’s bulletin on ITV News about Hamas summer camps for youth in Gaza initially came as a welcome contrast to other broadcasters that rarely cover the brutal threat of the terrorist organisation.
Watching young Palestinian children kitted out with combat gear whilst charging through mock terror tunnels, holding machine guns and jumping over burning assault courses whilst pretending to take Israeli captives is enough to make anyone realize the true deprivation of Israel’s enemies and especially their twisted incitement of the next generation of Palestinians.
But beside from this shocking footage, ITV still managed to somehow portray Israel as the oppressor and the Hamas training camps as a result of Israel’s ‘oppression’ of the Palestinian people.
For example, the accompanying report stated:
“The isolation of Gaza has led to an unemployment rate of 45 percent. Behind the closed borders, there are vanishingly few opportunities for young people, who’ve grown up to expect a limited life, punctuated by bouts of devastating violence.
“But at the training camp, I notice something different about the way people carry themselves. Backs are straightened, and chins jut out. In a place where sources of self-respect are difficult to find, the militant uniform of black combat fatigues and green bandannas delivers some.
“There’s one thing the bravado can’t conceal though, and that’s the terrible absence of hope.”
The report almost presents the camps as a positive contribution to the situation in Gaza. It might well bring a sense of self-respect to those involved, but self-respect earned from terror training is not something that can go without comment.
Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, has boasted that 25 summer camps will be set up over the course of the summer, providing jihadist training for more than 50,000 Gazan teens. It is the worst possible investment in the lives of young Gazans.
Furthermore, the report by ITV also places the conditions of Gazans as a direct result of conflict with Israel and fails to mention any failure of responsibility by Hamas itself. For example, it has been widely reported how Foreign Aid intended for relief in Gaza is often misused. But watching the ITV report, one could easily come to the conclusion that the training camps are the only solution for young people living with “the absence of hope”.
Christians United for Israel UK
