Destiny's Child

I've often heard the people of Gaza called "terrorists". It is the remit of the ignorant and lazy.

This short film was made the day after the leader of the Islamic militant group, Hamas, was assassinated in Gaza in April of 2004.

The idea was to murder a murderer, to exterminate a terrorist.

What it did was create a whole new generation of 'terrorists'.

Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi was known to me for nearly two years while I worked in Israel and the Occupied Territories. He was a paediatrician and a skilled leader, passionate about the plight of the people he lived with in one of the most over-populated strips of land in the world.


>>No Chance<<

The day after Rantissi was killed by an Apache helicopter I went to Gaza to report the events on the ground. The film you see was taken not from my cameraman's rushes but from my own mini-DV.

It focuses on a six-year-old boy I met at Rantissi's graveside. He was carrying the flag of Hamas, and was chanting a song about his devotion to Rantissi and his willingness to become a shahid or martyr.


He didn't look like a terrorist to me but he was growing up in a land under occupation. There are a lot of little terrorists in the Occupied Territories.

Destiny's Child flies in the face of all who would automatically dub Palestinians 'terrorists'. It is my fervant belief that the children of Palestine are politicised almost as soon as they are old enough to speak. How could they not be?

The constant presence of the Israeli military, coupled with the unrelenting cycle of despair is a breeding ground for young aspirants who see martyrdom as a glorious ascension. For every Palestinian killed there seem to be hundreds more willing to take their place.

This boy is but a single reminder of the reality of life for children growing up in an occupation where martyrdom is a natural way-of-life and, ultimately, death.

Hamas and other groups make it their business to ensure these children grow up with a romantic vision of what it is to lay down your life for your people and your country. Israel's occupation ensures Hamas stays in business.

Throughout this film children are shown pelting Israeli tanks with stones while shouting "Allah Akhbar" (God is Great). You will hear gun shots fired at the children by Israeli soldiers who watch them through high powered binoculars.

Three children were killed on the sand dunes where I filmed these scenes. All shot in either the head or neck by highly trained Israeli snipers in armoured personnel vehicles, simply for throwing stones.

The Israeli army says the children are a "danger to personnel operating in the region".

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Gaza
• occupation
• martyr
• shahid
• suicide
• bomber
• murder
• territories
• israel
• hamas
• jihad
• tank
• stones

[nazgulero]

Thanks for posting. I don't live there, so maybe I have no right to speak. I think the main problem is here is the value that both sides place on life, and death. In most of the Western countries, and probably including Israel, people would say: why do the parents of these children let them even go near these tanks ? Parents should protect their children. In Palestine, death seems to be something honorable. These different points of view cannot be reconciled.

[FreePalestine1000000]

Long Live Palestine

[BadlandsBoogie]

Nobody cares for the palestinian people the arab world and the western world just use them as pawns. Iran doesnt give a shit about them neither does Syria or Egypt, they only want to hurt Israel and USA.

[deenadoo14]

shut up Palestine is the best place in the world how the hell do the government know terrorist did it .... they dont they said they found their passport on the ground and said they were Palestinian but they are not!!

[sniper434434]

real ectors.. good game !

spartason shithead palstian,fuck u and ur lies and ur improvised movies...

when they need to shot some armd palastian that put a bomb that calld warfare!

ur a fucking terorist and ur hole fucking peoples!

anyway,fuck u,and ur hole fucking pepoles!

[avi087]

What you're saying doesn't make sense because Israel doesn't want the land and definitly not to opress Palestinians. The proof is that we left Gaza without expecting to get anything in return. We were planning to do the same in the West Bank. But once we saw that rockets were raining down on Sderot even after we left, we decided that doing the same thing in the West Bank is not a smart move.

[BlackVirusxz]

really u jews "are just trying to survive"??!!! what about all of the innocent palestinians that are just trying to survive u heartless pig!! What happened 60 years ago gives u NO right to take land and oppress anyone in it. I find it unbelievable that the jews can come out of concentration camps and war and put the palestinians through a similar HELL. So how about u shut the FUCK UP because u have no idea what you're talking about.

[avi087]

The fuel depot at Nahal Oz is 70% full (188,000 liters of gasoline and 820,000 liters of diesel fuel). Hamas has refrained for the last two weeks from providing this available fuel to the Palestinian people.

[maximouni]

I think any time you put your children on the frontline of a war, battle,or call it what you will, you make him or her a child soldier. Guns, rocks, or paper clips, you are throwing it to harm somebody, I do not care what you political view is. This case specically, the kids got what they wanted, a bullet for allah!!! Thanks allah for all your wisdom!!!

[lannart84]

cbdoobie Hehehehe you are so right. And if it had bean my kids I had spank their sorry arses and tell them that they can kiss their childhood goodbye.