BBC

Friday, 28 June, 2002, 13:43 GMT 14:43 UK

'Baby bomber photo' shocks Israel

Israelis are taking the image at face value

The Israeli army has released a picture it says was found during its incursion in the West Bank town of Hebron showing an infant dressed as a Hamas militant wearing a suicide bomber's harness. The army says the controversial picture was found in a family album during a search of a house belonging to an alleged Hamas militant, although there is no independent confirmation of its authenticity.

Palestinian children often dress up as militants brandishing toy guns or suicide bombers, but the Hebron "baby bomber" photograph has provoked widespread concern in Israel.

The image is being taken at face value there, although there is no explanation as to why parts of the print appear to have been blacked out.

Our correspondent says there is no way to independently confirm that the picture is authentic.

The Israeli army says it will release the name of the baby's family later on.

'Feeding hatred'

The picture - which the Israeli army says is genuine - shows a boy, about 18 months old, standing wide-eyed in a baby suit.

Red wires are strapped to his waist, which is clad in a pretend explosives belt, and across his head is tied a red bandana of the extremist Islamic group, Hamas.

The militants are heroes for many Palestinian children Israeli prime ministerial spokesman David Baker said the picture was symptomatic of what he regarded as anti-Jewish indoctrination.

"What is obvious is that Palestinians are feeding the hatred of Jews and Israelis to their children at the earliest possible age," he said.

Palestinian reaction varied from cynicism to despair.

"This is cheap Israeli propaganda," said Palestinian 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."

But Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi described the photo as a "painful image".

"To me it is a... strange heroism," she told the BBC. "But at the same time it is part of the distortion that results from ongoing victimisation, incursions, targeting civilians, a whole captive Palestinian population."

Lynching

Hamas has been known to organise public rallies in which young children stage mock-ups of famous attacks against Israel.

Recently a group re-enacted the lynching of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah, in which a small girl had her hands painted red to show the blood of the soldiers.

Israeli forces have occupied large parts of all but one of the major Palestinian towns in the West Bank, and the government says they will remain until there is an end to Palestinian suicide bombings which have killed dozens of Israelis in recent weeks.

Some opinion polls conducted in Palestinian areas show a majority of people favour suicide bombings against Israeli civilians as a tactic to liberate land occupied by Israel.

But recently a group of Palestinian intellectuals took out an advertisement in Palestinian newspapers condemning suicide attacks as counter-productive, but their call has been widely ignored.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is accused by Israel of backing suicide bombings, but he has repeatedly condemned attacks inside Israel.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2002

Answers

Looks more like 'Made by Mattel' to me.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2002

Yep, I thought the child looked like a doll too, but look what the Palestinian officials say above. One of the high-ranking Pal officials indicates the photo is authentic but that the Israelis are using it as an excuse for their actions. Ashrawi says it is "a strange heroism."

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2002

Last update - 17:50 28/06/2002 Family of 'baby bomber' says photograph was 'just a joke' By Ha'aretz Service and agencies The family of Palestinian baby photographed wearing a mock suicide bomber's uniform - replete with sticks of 'explosives' and the traditional martyr's red headband -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 against Israeli occupation.

Asked whether the army would take reporters to the house to verify the authenticity of the photograph, an army spokeswoman said this was not immediately possible because Hebron was a 'closed military zone' from which journalists were barred.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2002

In the mail last night I saw an envelope from CAMERA.

Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America

On the envelope was a picture of a little girl, the caption said that little kids were being taught from a young age to give their lives for the cause. I forget the exact words, but it inferred that they were taught this suicide bombing was an acceptable choice.

I wonder if there is a website. Yep. Link. http://www.camera.org/

I wish I could remember the actual caption word for word. The girl was apparently singing along with other school kids.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2002

Found the caption. It's here, in .pdf format.

Link http://world.std.com/~camera/docs/alert/nyt_hate.pdf

The little girl sings:
"I am the voice of the exalted martyr ...
And we shall march as warriors of Jihad.
Oh, my exalted martyr, you are my example. Oh my
companion, you are beside me. Oh, my sister, sing
constantly about my life as a suicide warrior."


-- Anonymous, June 29, 2002

See The Crusades. See also Richard the Lionheart. See also Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub. This crap has been going on for a while.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2002