The International Legal Forum, a human rights legal group based in Israel, sent a letter to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on July 1 calling on the international body to take action against Hamas’ use of child soldiers.
The letter, which was obtained by the Journal, expressed “grave concern over reports that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which are both widely recognized as terrorist organizations, are recruiting and training young children to serve as soldiers in the Gaza Strip.” The letter pointed to a recent report from The Jerusalem Post stating that Hamas believes children need to be prepared to make “sacrifices.” “This is an abhorrent form of child abuse, that exposes these children to violence, exploitation and potential death,” the letter stated.
The letter argued that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)–another terror group in Gaza that also holds training camps for child soldiers–are committing war crimes under international law, as the law prohibits the use of child soldiers. “There is further evidence suggesting that some of the civilian casualties in Gaza during the recent May 2021 conflict, were child soldiers recruited and forced to fight for the Palestinian terror groups,” the letter stated. “If so, Hamas and PIJ bear direct [responsibility] for the deaths of these Palestinian children as well.”
The letter concluded with a call for UNICEF “to act immediately and without reservation to prevent the continuation of such unconscionable atrocities and abuse of children in Gaza, as well as to hold Palestinian terror groups Hamas and PIJ, accountable for these heinous crimes.”
Arsen Ostrovsky, who heads International Legal Forum, told The Jerusalem Post that it’s a “dereliction of duty” for UNICEF to do nothing against Hamas and PIJ’s use of child soldiers.
According to the Times of Israel, Hamas’ training camps for child soldiers train the youth to kidnap and attack Israeli soldiers as well as in the use of anti-tank weaponry and snipers against Israeli targets. Video footage has circulated on social media of Hamas promoting these training camps as well as from the camps themselves.
A music video was made of Hamas' military summer camp for children and teenagers. An excerpt of the video below. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/wbOTI1HCW6
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 6, 2021
Hamas “Pioneers of Liberation” Summer Camps Promotional Video: Teen Campers Use Simulators to Practice Sniper Shooting and Anti-Tank Missile Launching #Hamas #Gaza #terrorists #child_indoctrination pic.twitter.com/LuazaeQln0
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 27, 2021
A spokesperson for Hamas defended their child soldier training camps, arguing at a press conference that under international law, Hamas has “the right to self-determination, self-defense, and resisting the occupier by all means available, including armed resistance.” Joe Truzman, a contributor to the Foundation for Defense Democracies’ Long War Journal, wrote: “Despite what Hamas or any other Palestinian group states, the camps are not an investment in the future of Gaza’s youth or a Palestinian state, but one of preservation of the militant group’s power, and the build up of military strength to continue waging jihad against Israel.”
