Hamas, a State Department recognized Foreign Terrorist Organization, has issued a press release announcing that it will hold children’s summer camps called “Al Quds Intifada,” or “Jerusalem Uprising.”  The intent is to train thousands of children to see themselves as fighters for the movement.

Hamas has opened three-week-long training camps in Gaza for over 50,000 elementary, middle, and high school students, the Gaza-based terror organization said….

Hamas official Ismail Radwan explained that the theme of the camps is the “Jerusalem Intifada,” and that the goal is “to raise a generation of Palestinians who love the resistance and the liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.” The camp also includes scouting and religious educational programming.

Tower provides video of an earlier bit of toddler training, simulating the capture of an Israeli soldier by children with automatic weapons.

The use of child soldiers is a human rights violation, recognized by even left-leaning NGOs such as Human Rights Watch.

Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. These boys and girls, some as young as 8 years old, serve in government forces and armed opposition groups. They may fight on the front lines, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts. Girls may be forced into sexual slavery.

It is not evident that Hamas participates in sexual slavery of girls, as the Islamic State (ISIS) does.  However, it is the case that evidence strongly suggests that Palestinian female suicide bombers have often been raped by their alleged comrades — and then offered the suicide belt as a way of ‘atoning’ for the ‘shame’ of having been raped.  Girls brought up in the Hamas movement are therefore not safe from sexually predatory behavior by members of the movement.

The life cycle of indoctrinated children is enwrapped by these radical organizations.  Consider Mohammad Tra’ayra, a 19-year-old Palestinian who stabbed a 13 year old girl to death in her own bed.  The girl was Israeli, but also an American citizen.  The Palestinian governor of Hebron visited his family to express condolences for his death — not hers.  The Palestinian Authority makes regular cash payments to the families of those who kill Israelis.  So, a child brought up to hate and murder, should he or she grow into an adult who carries out such a murder, knows that their family will receive both honor and wealth as a result of the murder.

Nevertheless, Hamas is strongly supported by leaders of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).  Nihad Awad, perhaps CAIR’s most prominent figure, is an outspoken supporter of Hamas.  The vocal support for Hamas has decreased somewhat since its official designation by the State Department as a terrorist entity, but there is no reason to doubt that the earlier statements remain in full force even if they are no longer publicly expressed.

CAIR has also promoted the cause of Hamas by defending its agents, including “motivational speaker” — and alleged Hamas fundraiser — Monzer Taleb.

The connection should be no surprise, given that Hamas was originally the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and that CAIR is a Brotherhood proxy that grew out of its Palestine committee.

Indeed, the Brotherhood runs similar camps here in America, according to Ikhwan in America:  An Oral History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Their Own Words.  Referring to camps with military training in various countries, a Brotherhood leader says:

If the asking brother is from Iraq, he would know that it is impossible to have such a gathering in Iraq and this is one of the methods. If the asking brother is from Jordan, for instance, he would know that it is not possible to have military training in Jordan, for instance, while here in America, there is weapons training in many of the Ikhwans’ camps. Er…., if the brother is from Libya, he would know that the Islamic Movement has not been able to form due to the pressure which is on the…, on the people, but it succeeded in growing in America.

Watch this video by the author, Kyle Shideler, for more.