Palestinians Using More Children, Women for Terrorism

[drdon326]

There was a substantial increase in the use of Palestinian women and children to carry out terror attacks in 2004, the Israel Security Agency said on Wednesday. And while suicide bombings were down, mortar and rocket attacks rose.

The number of people killed in terror attacks dropped 45 percent, but a report issued by Israel's intelligence service said that's not for lack of motivation on the terrorists' part.

In 2004 - the fourth year of the intifada, the Palestinian armed conflict - 117 Israeli civilians and soldiers and a handful of foreigners were killed and 589 were wounded in Palestinian terror attacks. That compares with 214 killed and 1,004 wounded in 2003, the ISA (Shin Bet) report said.

Nearly half of those killed in 2004 died in suicide attacks; the decrease in the number of dead and wounded in 2004 is attributed to the foiling or disruption of suicide attacks.

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=\ForeignBureaus\archive\200501\FOR20050106a.html

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I find it hard to believe any normal people would use women and children as pawns in terrorism.

Ohhhhh....thats right......my bad.

[number6]

1. a total waste of explosives ....

oh and children too ...

they should be sent to engineering schools to develope
hi-tech weapons, hey its the murican way ...

oh and children have been used as pawns since time began
don't be surprised.

[TheKingfish]

2. Gotta admit i agree

Women can make fine guerrilla fighters when given the chance. No need to throw away a life on a suicide operation. Its like some kind of reverse Masada - very sick indeed.

[Cervello]

3. There Is Always A Silver Lining

In 2004 - the fourth year of the intifada, the Palestinian armed conflict - 117 Israeli civilians and soldiers and a handful of foreigners were killed and 589 were wounded in Palestinian terror attacks. That compares with 214 killed and 1,004 wounded in 2003, the ISA (Shin Bet) report said.

Terrorism is down! Let's hope with the new elections, the peace process can start again.

[King Mongo]

6. Women power

Bush and Sharon are still in power. Forget the peace process. It won't happen.

It makes more sense to encourage Palestinian women and children to use tricky methods of self-defense where they are less likely to get killed, such as digging tunnels, firing rockets or participating in the information war. Of course, getting killed in non-violent protests is another issue which will hurt the Bush/Sharon image.

[newyorican]

4. Unfortunately, children have been pawns...

throughout history.

It's nothing new, or exclusive to any group.

[The Magistrate]

5. No It Is Not, Sir

Whatever one may think of any particular guerrilla struggle, there is not one known to history that has not employed women and children in its ranks....

[drdon326]

7. Oh really??....teach me,please

thruout recent history, what other war used children as the major tactical force to the extent the palestinians have?

Thruout recent history, what other war has one side used media to ENCOURAGE children to commit suicide/homicide/war crimes to the manner the palestinians have??

What other country has strapped teenagers (or in one case younger) with suicide belts to murder and commit war crimes to the level the palestinians have?

To claim that all wars use children inherently gives approval to level of vile child abuse and war crimes committed by the palestinian terrorists. ('see, the palestinians use children just like everyone else')



No sir....while children have been used in all wars , there is really NO parallel to 'the new high in lows' to the way the palestinians have used children.

[King Mongo]

8. Human methods of defense

How people are attacked defines how they defend themselves and all humans act equally in this situation. No human is any better than any other.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Scurrilous]

9. From Human Rights Watch:

http://hrw.org/campaigns/crp/index.htm

<snip>

"In dozens of countries around the world, children have become direct participants in war. Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, some 300,000 children are serving as soldiers in current armed conflicts. These young combatants participate in all aspects of contemporary warfare. They wield AK-47s and M-16s on the front lines of combat, serve as human mine detectors, participate in suicide missions, carry supplies, and act as spies, messengers or lookouts."

<snip>

"Child soldiers are being used in more than thirty countries around the world. Human Rights Watch has interviewed child soldiers from countries including Angola, Colombia, Lebanon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Uganda. In Sierra Leone, thousands of children abducted by rebel forces witnessed and participated in horrible atrocities against civilians, including beheadings, amputations, rape, and burning people alive. Children forced to take part in atrocities were often given drugs to overcome their fear or reluctance to fight."

<snip>

"Girls are also used as soldiers in many parts of the world. In addition to combat duties, girls are subject to sexual abuse and may be taken as “wives” by rebel leaders in Angola, Sierra Leone and Uganda. In Northern Uganda, Human Rights Watch interviewed girls who had been impregnated by rebel commanders, and then forced to strap their babies on their backs and take up arms against Ugandan security forces.

Because of their immaturity and lack of experience, child soldiers suffer higher casualties than their adult counterparts. Even after the conflict is over, they may be left physically disabled or psychologically traumatized. Frequently denied an education or the opportunity to learn civilian job skills, many find it difficult to re-join peaceful society. Schooled only in war, former child soldier are often drawn into crime or become easy prey for future recruitment."

[drdon326]

10. Stop Use of Children in Suicide Bombings

-- Palestinian armed groups should immediately end all use of children in military attacks, Human Rights Watch said today, following a Tel Aviv suicide bombing by a 16-year-old that killed three Israeli civilians Monday.

“Any attack on civilians is prohibited by international law, but using children for suicide attacks is particularly egregious,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Palestinian armed groups must clearly and publicly condemn all use of children under the age of 18 for military activities, and make sure these policies are carried out.”

Major Palestinian armed groups, including Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas, have publicly disavowed the use of children in military operations, but those stated policies have not always been implemented. Some leaders, including representatives of Islamic Jihad and Hamas, have said that they consider children of 16 to be adults. International law defines a child as any person under the age of eighteen.

Human Rights Watch said that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has been implicated in at least four suicide bombings by children. These include bombings by 17-year-old Ayat al-Akhras in Jerusalem in March 2002; 17-year-old Issa Abedrabbu Ibrahim Badir in Rishon Lezion in May 2002; 16-year-old Sabih Abu al-Saoud in March 2003 and 17-year-old Islam Qteishat in Rosh Ha’ayin in August 2003.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/11/02/isrlpa9591.htm

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I didnt say the use of children didnt happen in wars...i said the use of children in this conflict has taken it to new lows.

Even HRW is disgusted AT THE LEVEL of the use of children by palestinian terrorists.

[mike_c]

17. better to ask the IDF to stop targetting Palestinian children....

But that wouldn't serve the broader agenda of genocide, would it?

[King Mongo]

18. illegal settlement growth

With or without suicide bombers, the illegal settlements will continue growing. There is really no need for Palestinians to be suicide bombers because they will get killed protesting non-violently too, assuming that they were not killed already on the way to join the protest.

[bemildred]

12. So, you like HRW, I guess.

Recent Human Rights Watch Reports On The Use Of Child Soldiers
(Note the word "recent".)

http://hrw.org/campaigns/crp/hrw-reports.htm

For sheer horror, it's hard to beat the Congo and Sierra Leone,
but the entry on Lebanon is interesting too. To be sure, no two
conflicts are exactly alike, but franky the numbers and horror of
the situation in the I/P conflict pale in comparison with some of
the wars in Africa.

Edit: somewhat surprised they left out Sri Lanka and the LTTE.

[Lithos]

13. There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world at this time

Some, very recent examples:

1) Burma - The Burmese government has made it a practice of conscripting children. Several of the resistance groups use children. There was a story of a pair of young brothers age 8(ish) who were leaders of one group because of their heroism.

2) Lords Resistance Army in Uganda - infamous for their use of child soldiers:

http://kabiza.com/Lira-Children-Kony-Rebels.htm

Others include: Liberia, Sierra Leone, India, Nepal, Chechnya, Colombia, Afghanistan, Tamil

If you want older history, look to Germany and their use of child soldiers in WWI & 1945 (Hitler Jugend), France and the UK in WWI, Cambodia (60's-present), Vietnam (60's), Iran & Iraq in their war.

There are more.

See:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/soldier.shtml
http://www.child-soldiers.org/
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/childsoldiers-index-eng

[bemildred]

14. LRA is really the "cream of the crop".

It is well to point out that this practice is ancient and has
never stopped in all history. Children in middle to late teens make
the best cannon fodder. Don't forget to look at the American Civil
War, too.

It is also worth pointing out that it is often not necessary to conscript
them either. I still remember reading as a young man about fourteen
year old Hungarian kids taking on Russian tanks with Molotov Cocktails
in Budapest.

[Lithos]

15. Very true

The use of children as drummers, supply runners, etc. has been around for hundreds of years.

Yes, there are many other cases where children acted like you described in many WWII and post-WWII situations. Most of the resistance groups used them in Europe, you've of course have the children who fought the Soviets in many of the armed confrontations in Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc.

One group I didn't add, but which is probably relevent is the use of child soldiers during the Warsaw uprising.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children

And of course in addition to the use of children for suicide bombers, children do form a part of the various Palestinian militant groups. But also the IDF has been charged with strong evidence of their use of women and children as shields, particularly at Jenin.

Also, the Israeli Air Force does utilize child labor as young as 13 in their technical training program which does provide OJT on the militery base. Ostensibly this is a vo-ed type of training for the rather specialized work of dealing with military aircraft, but the children do help. In return the children do receive pay, a uniform and much of the same benefits including the use of free public transportation. Not front-line action, but still a military use of children.

L-

[The Magistrate]

16. To Name One Leading Example, Doctor

The archtypal "people's war" of modern times, and the most massive one to date, the Communist insurgency in China, including its resistance phase against Japan, incorporated children and women routinely. It was waged at such a pitch that there are reported instances of six year olds executed for collaboration.

The thing is simply not so unique as you suppose, Doctor. That does not make it a good thing.