Palestinian kindergarten films its kids play-clashing with IDF, becoming ‘martyrs’

A West Bank kindergarten has published videos showing children pretending to perform military drills with toy guns, clashing with and killing Israeli soldiers, and holding a mock funeral for a child who is killed and becomes a “martyr.”

The clips from the Al-Tofula Kindergarten in Beit Awwa in the southern West Bank were published on the TikTok video-sharing service Tuesday, according to the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute watchdog.

One video showed children dressed as Israel Defense Forces soldiers trying to arrest Palestinian suspects in their home, but a clash develops as gunmen arrive to rescue the suspects and two soldiers are killed along with one of the Palestinians.

The children are then shown performing a funeral procession for the Palestinian “martyr,” with one of them acting the role of the slain fighter.

In other videos, masked children are shown training and marching with toy guns.

MEMRI said that text embedded in one of the videos noted they have already been removed several times by TikTok.

Screen capture from a video published by the Al-Tofula Kindergarten in Beit Awwa in the West Bank, showing children simulating a ‘martyr’ funeral for one of their number who is killed in a pretend clash with the IDF, February 14, 2023. (Twitter. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The European Union, the Palestinian Authority’s largest single donor, has occasionally raised concerns about Palestinian incitement, and in particular in textbooks used in Palestinian schools. Between 2008 and 2020, Brussels donated around $2.5 billion in direct budget support to the PA.

Some EU parliamentarians have advocated tighter restrictions on aid to Ramallah until the latter revises its textbooks’ content. A measure pitched in 2021 to condition EU funding on such revisions was ultimately scrapped.