...At a US Senate Hearing in October 2003, Palestinian Media Watch director Itamar Marcus presented evidence of the Palestinian Authority's indoctrination of children to aspire to "heroic" death as Shahids - Martyrs for Allah. Immediately thereafter, after widespread political and media condemnation both in print and on television, most PA TV clips that directly taught children to seek heroic Shahada -Martyrdom for Allah- were removed.

Now, after nearly three years, the PA has suddenly started rebroadcasting the Al Dura in Paradise video. The clip features a child actor playing Muhammad Al Dura, whose death in a crossfire in 2000 was broadcast to the entire world, calling on children to join him in Paradise. In Child-Martyr Paradise, Al Dura is playing with kites and Ferris wheels, presenting an ideal children's world that is designed to attract young naive children. And it opens with the words from Al Dura to the living children: "I am waving not to part but to say: 'Follow me'."

There are numerous reasons for the sudden encouragement now of children to seek heroic death. The PA, has its image blackened by the kidnapping of soldier Gilad Shalit, the killings of soldiers and the continuous missile barrage on southern Israel. Certainly the PA wants to reposition itself as the victim, something that they successfully achieved in the past by sending children to combat zones, and achieving their goal through dead and injured Palestinian children to report to the media.

As Israel re-enters the Gaza Strip to search for terrorists and the kidnapped Israeli soldier, the sudden encouragement of children to seek death indicates the PA is in all likelihood returning to this previously successful tactic of using children as human shields for terrorists. It makes it more difficult for Israeli soldiers to fight terrorist, and it creates ideal photo opportunities of children armed only with stones, "bravely" confronting heavily-armed soldiers.

Children are taught that the short cut to both glory and fun is to follow Al Dura to heaven. Some of these children inevitably will be caught in the crossfire, PA leaders will rush to the media to publicly mourn the children they have so deceitfully sent to their deaths, and Israel will once again be condemned...

The following is the text of the Al Dura in Paradise clip:
"How sweet is the fragrance of the martyrs,
how sweet is the fragrance of the earth,
its thirst quenched by the gush of blood
flowing from the youthful body."
Caption: "And so he went..."
Choir: "Goodbye to the boy Muhammad"...