Writing for The Times of Israel, Andrew Percy MP condemned the “poisonous stream of incitement and hate” that Palestinian children are exposed to and which ultimately drives many Palestinian youths to commit violent acts against Israelis.
CFI’s Parliamentary Vice-Chairman yesterday wrote that many pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel advocates “seem more concerned with portraying Israel as a monstrous villain” than exposing the Palestinian Authority (PA)-sanctioned incitement which “routinely appears in Palestinian textbooks and official PA TV children’s programmes”.
He referred to the shipment of “incitement dolls” seized by Israeli customs last month, intended for distribution in the West Bank. Each doll has a face covered by a kefiyyeh, with a rock in its hand and a scarf with messages saying “Jerusalem is ours” and “We are coming for Jerusalem” on it.
Percy displayed one of these rock-throwing dolls in a Westminster Hall debate this week on ‘Child prisoners and detainees in the Palestinian Territories’, stating that Palestinian children are “incited from a young age” into committing acts of violence.
In the article, entitled ‘How not to help Palestinian children’, Percy emphasised the importance of promoting “increased contact between the two communities, especially young people” and rejecting the hate-filled rhetoric of the PA.
This narrative, he writes, is not espoused by the Palestinian solidarity camp who consistently fail to promote constructive dialogue and coexistence initiatives between Palestinians and Israelis.
While encouraging the Israeli government to align the judicial system in the West Bank with the civilian system in Israel, Percy argues that the PA “fails to deal adequately with minors assaulting Israelis, providing Israel with no viable alternative to detention”.
He said: “So long as the PA fails to engage with Israel on alternatives to detention, the Israeli administration is faced with no alternative”.
The full article can be found here.
After Wednesday’s debate, Percy spoke to the Jewish News and Israeli Channel Ten. The links to all coverage can be found here: Jewish News, Channel Ten (report starts at min 04:50) and Ynetnews.com.
