Commentary on a Child Who Died in the Intifada

The following is an example of the many articles appearing in the Palestinian press praising children who die in the Intifada and holding them up as objects of admiration for their peers. It appeared in the Al A’yam, one of the official newspapers of the Palestinian Authority, on April 4, 2001.

“Mohammed Abu A’atzi is a Martyr of Al Aqsa”.

“[Mohammed] refused to eat. His mother thought that he didn’t like the food that she had prepared, so she sent his older brother to buy him a can of meat. When he saw it, Mohammed threw it down and said, “They are murdering us and we go on eating.The hell with it!”

On Monday Mohammed went to the nest of iniquity, Netzarim [a Jewish Settlement in the Gaza Strip] in order to express his anger. He found a ride, then apologized to the owners [of the car] saying, “I wish to die as a martyr. Please excuse me for not paying you.”

He [the driver] answered. “Go with Allah beside you.”

Muhammad was then hit in the chest in a residential building near the Netzarim Army Base. The bullet was shot from an Apache helicopter which was hovering in the skies of “Martyrs Junction” in order to strike at [literally to stand against-PMW] the bare-chested Mohammed so that he would fall as a martyr.”

Al A’yam 4/4/01

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