Hamas supporters in Gaza. Photo: Tasja via Wikimedia Commons.

Palestinian children simulated murdering Israelis while participating in a cultural festival in the Gaza Strip this week, according to Israel’s Channel 2 News and reported by the Times of Israel.

A Hamas television channel, available in both Gaza and the West Bank, broadcast the event featuring young Palestinian children in military fatigues wielding machine guns and knives.

The play, part of the Palestine Festival for Children and Education, depicts a young girl with a knife stabbing Israelis in an attempt to free a Palestinian prisoner. She is subsequently “shot” as other young girls approach the “body” and cry.

“Do not be angry with her. She is your blood, your flesh and your honor,” proclaims a voice on the loudspeaker.

The next scene shows a masked boy shooting an Israeli soldier followed by joyful music along with the cheer: “Rejoice! The sniper has arrived!”

“When Palestinians send their kids to act in this school play no wonder their kids commit [sic] attacks when they’re older,” tweeted Ofir Gendelman, the Arab media spokesperson at the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Palestinians from across the political spectrum often incite violence against Israelis and Jews through official institutions, including school books and the media. “Cultural” events such as this play glorifying terrorism are frequent and serve as a testament to the culture of martyrdom prevalent throughout Palestinian society. Violence against Israelis is systematically glorified and future generations are encouraged to emulate notorious terrorists responsible for murder.

While US Islamists on occasion condemn ISIS terrorism and its propaganda targeting youth, there is complete silence concerning Palestinian incitement to violence. The double standard suggests that prominent American Islamists tolerate Palestinian indoctrination of children and view the murder of Israelis as justified “resistance.”

For many years, the Investigative Project on Terrorism and others have called for US Islamists to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization, to no avail. Palestinian advocates claim that they seek better lives for the people in Gaza, yet never challenge the notion that Hamas prioritizes its jihad to destroy Israel over providing a better future for its people.

This is particularly evident as Hamas invests significant resources to rebuild its underground tunnel infrastructure at the expense of civilian reconstruction projects.

This latest “cultural” play confirms Hamas’ objectives: to brainwash the next generation of Palestinian youth to kill Israelis instead of giving them hope for a better life.

Watch the “play” below:

Steven Emerson is the Executive Director the Investigative Project on Terrorism (www.investigativeproject.org) where this article first appeared.