Hamas Killed 160 Palestinian Children to Build Tunnels

[lostinblue 1,989]

Hamas Killed 160 Palestinian Children to Build Tunnels

By Myer Freimann|July 25, 2014 10:15 AM

Militant group used child labor to construct underground network in Gaza

As the death toll of Operation Protective Edge rises, the deaths of children are firmly in the spotlight—and rightly so. It pains all reasonable people to hear of children dying as the consequence of war. Hamas and its supporters display gruesome pictures of dead and wounded children in order to gain sympathy for their portrait of Israel as the villain intent on killing Palestinians. In response, Israel cites the need to stop Hamas from firing thousands of rockets at its own children, who are being forced to live in bomb shelters, as well as the need to eliminate the tunnels that Hamas dug into Israel in order to carry out terror attacks against Israelis. One tunnel opening was found underneath an Israeli kindergarten.

But who built those tunnels? The answer is Hamas, of course—using some of the same children who are now trapped under fire in Gaza.

The Institute for Palestine Studies published a detailed report on Gaza’s Tunnel Phenomenon in the summer of 2012. It reported that tunnel construction in Gaza has resulted in a large number of child deaths.

“At least 160 children have been killed in the tunnels, according to Hamas officials”

The author, Nicolas Pelham, explains that Hamas uses child laborers to build their terror tunnels because, “much as in Victorian coal mines, they are prized for their nimble bodies”.

Human rights groups operating in Gaza raised concerns about child labor in the tunnels as far back as 2008. Hamas responded by saying it was “considering curbs.” Following Operation Cast Lead in 2009 Hamas softened its position and the Interior Ministry established the Tunnel Affairs Commission (TAC) which, “In response to public concern at a rising toll of tunnel casualties, particularly of child workers…issued guidelines intended to ensure safe working conditions.” No mention is made in the report of the conditions that would result for both Palestinian and Israeli children from building tunnels that would be used to launch terror attacks.

Nor does it seem that Hamas paid much subsequent attention to ensuring the safety of the child workers that it used to build the tunnels that would wind up endangering the lives of many in Gaza. On a tour of the tunnels in 2011, Pelham noted that, “nothing was done to impede the use of children in the tunnels.”

Not only are Hamas misappropriating much of the humanitarian aid supplied to Gaza—800,000 tons of cement were used to construct the terror tunnels into Israel—they are also directly exploiting and endangering Gaza’s youth in their construction and operation.

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/180400/hamas-killed-160-palestinian-children-to-build-terror-tunnels

http://palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx?id=11424&jid=1&href=fulltext

With each tunnel costing $80,000 to $200,000 to build,

If we were mining coal with these deaths to children massive protest's would be going on today. Why not with these children.

[Karee 4,189]

You shouldn't try to pass off stories from the Onion as being fact.

[lostinblue 1,989]

You shouldn't try to pass off stories from the Onion as being fact.

The report published by the Institute for Palestine Studies was authored by Nicolas Pelham – a well-known Middle East analyst who wrote for The Economist and The New York Review of Books, among others.

The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is a private nonprofit research institution unaffiliated with any political organization or government. IPS is highly regarded throughout the Arab world as a model of institutional organization and independence. Established in Beirut in 1963, it is the oldest institute in the world devoted exclusively to documentation, research, analysis, and publication on Palestinian affairs and the Arab-Israeli conflict. IPS supports the Institute for Palestine Studies (USA), Inc., in Washington, D.C. [a 501©(3) public charity] and the Institute of Jerusalem Studies in Ramallah (West Bank).

Since its establishment, the Institute has published over 600 books, monographs, and documentary collections in English, Arabic and French-as well as its renowned quarterly academic journals: Journal of Palestine Studies, Jerusalem Quarterly, and Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filistiniyyah. Its publications, meticulously researched and sourced, are widely respected and extensively cited in academic and policy work. IPS’s Library in Beirut is the largest in the Arab world specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Judaica.

[Karee 4,189]

The report published by the Institute for Palestine Studies was authored by Nicolas Pelham – a well-known Middle East analyst who wrote for The Economist and The New York Review of Books, among others.

The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is a private nonprofit research institution unaffiliated with any political organization or government. IPS is highly regarded throughout the Arab world as a model of institutional organization and independence. Established in Beirut in 1963, it is the oldest institute in the world devoted exclusively to documentation, research, analysis, and publication on Palestinian affairs and the Arab-Israeli conflict. IPS supports the Institute for Palestine Studies (USA), Inc., in Washington, D.C. [a 501©(3) public charity] and the Institute of Jerusalem Studies in Ramallah (West Bank).

Since its establishment, the Institute has published over 600 books, monographs, and documentary collections in English, Arabic and French-as well as its renowned quarterly academic journals: Journal of Palestine Studies, Jerusalem Quarterly, and Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filistiniyyah. Its publications, meticulously researched and sourced, are widely respected and extensively cited in academic and policy work. IPS’s Library in Beirut is the largest in the Arab world specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Judaica.

From your link above:

Once in control of the commercial tunnels, the Hamas government set about formalizing the smuggling economy through regulation. In the wake of Operation Cast Lead, the Interior Ministry established the Tunnel Affairs Commission (TAC) to act as the regulatory authority for commercial activities. Among its first acts was to issue a list of blacklisted imports, including weapons, alcohol, and tramadol, a painkiller much used in Gaza. In response to public concern at a rising toll of tunnel casualties, particularly of child workers, the TAC issued guidelines intended to ensure safe working conditions.