Palestinians guilty of turning kids into killers

Sitting by her daughter’s bed at Rabin Medical Centre in Israel, Adva Biton laments that three-year-old Adele, who is now confined to a wheelchair since the attack, “doesn’t laugh, doesn’t eat, doesn’t do anything on her own”.

Several minutes before the crash, rocks were also hurled at another Israeli vehicle, shattering the windshield. The driver, a resident of Eli, and his one-year-old son were lightly wounded.

On a daily basis incidents of rock throwing by minors take place. These projectiles are launched with alarming regularity.

These events contribute a part of the grim everyday reality of life in the West Bank.

Over recent days, Australian media reports have painted an extremely misleading view of the situation on the West Bank regarding the treatment of Palestinian children and Israel’s co-operation with UNICEF.

Israel’s security establishment has been, according to a UNICEF paper from October 1, 2013, “engaging closely with UNICEF and has been reviewing the recommendations of the UNICEF paper”.

The paper goes on to note that “this engagement is facilitating a deeper analysis and understanding of the process of military arrest, detention and prosecution in the West Bank”.

We, like the overwhelming majority of Israelis and fair-minded people everywhere, feel great pain and a sense of sorrow when we see children tragically involved in acts of politically motivated violence. While the issue of incarceration and treatment of minors is being dealt with, we are not seeing a similar level of thought or effort put into investigations concerning the origin of such behaviours. Children are not inherently violent or hateful. This is a learned behaviour.

To comprehensively investigate the health and wellbeing of the children involved in such violent acts, we must acknowledge that these children were, at some point, indoctrinated into this vicious mentality by terrorists and their affiliates.

We must recognise the role of adults in teaching their children to throw rocks as the core reason for these acts. Including, of course, strategic targets and timing in training. Misused by adults and terror organisations in a way contravening international law, utilising children for incitement purposes is criminal. This is the reality and it must stop.

When a minor is coerced into participating in deadly violence, it primarily indicates a lack of discipline, education and a breakdown of the primary support system, his or her family. Unfortunately, the Palestinian society and Authority have embraced and institutionalised a system of hate and violence directed at Israelis.

This system encourages individual acts of violence, whether rock throwing, fire-bomb hurling, drive-by shooting or, in extreme cases, the utilisation of explosives and suicide attacks. This environment is met by, and insulated by, an educational system that does its utmost to erase Israel from the history books.

Despite the news reports, it is important to note that Israel is actively working towards a better solution for the future. Unlike other countries, Israel has been working with UNICEF and other international organisations in order to improve the situation while uncovering the truth without any fear. These incidents have only come to light through the transparency and self-reporting that has characterised UNICEF-Israel investigators.

UNICEF’s latest paper clearly highlights the vast improvements made by Israel through various government ministries and the IDF. Israel’s support for UNICEF’s investigation and reforms it has made to procedures surrounding minors are illustrative of the genuine effort Israel makes to safeguard the judicial process and make substantive and effective changes where the need arises.

As stated in the UNICEF paper: “These efforts will build on the work of Palestinian, Israeli and International civil society groups who have been working with the Palestinian population for a number of years to raise awareness with children, families and communities to ensure they are informed of their specific rights when they are detained by the Israeli military.”

Israel stands at a crossroads, a place where no other country has stood before. We represent a patch in the complex tapestry of Middle-Eastern geography.

To simplify and sensationalise our situation, and that of the Middle East, is unhelpful and undermines peace efforts in both a regional and global context.

It is such a shame that we cannot see a more three-dimensional view of the Middle East, instead of the same story regurgitated over many days. Shmuel Ben-Shmuel is Israel’s ambassador to Australia.