Gaza Children Play Fatah-Hamas War Games

Following are excerpts from a report on children playing Hamas-Fatah war games in Gaza, which aired on August 10, 2007, on Al-Arabiya TV.

Reporter: It looks almost the same: Guns, only made of wood, masked faces, flags, slogans, and songs for each side.

They are children from one neighborhood, aged eight to twelve years old. They have chosen to imitate the adults, and they do it well. It is all very similar: the military preparations, the deployment, the planning of attacks, the taking of prisoners, and the make-believe killings.

"Fatah" boy: We've become used to going to sleep and waking up to shooting and killing. We've got used to playing this game.

"Hamas" boy: We like to imitate the grown-ups. We like to repeat what they do.

Reporter: The goals of the battle between the two sides resemble the goals of the real one, and so do the mutual accusations. This is a replica of real battles, only this time the leaders have been robbed of their innocence.

"Hamas" boy: They tried to take over our post, but we attacked and captured them. One of them escaped. We tried to catch him, but he was escaped.

Reporter: What do you do with the prisoners you take?

"Hamas" boy: If they release one of our prisoners, we release one of theirs.

"Fatah" boy: They attacked us and beat up one of our own. We caught one of theirs, beat him up, and brought him here. He said: "Let me go," and started to cry over there. We caught him, beat him up, and executed him.

"Fatah" boy: We want to defeat the kids. The Fatah grown-ups were defeated, and we will defeat the [Hamas] kids.

"Hamas" boy: We met young Fatah members, and we want to overcome them.

Reporter: A siege besieging a siege in a small and crowded area - Gaza, which suffers from poverty, exhaustion, and has limited means of livelihood. The only thing the children can enjoy beyond the walls of Gaza is what they see on television. The only alternative is the streets,the culture of which breaks down the discipline of the home, and the families try to draw the line only where absolutely necessary.

[...]

Any politician who wants can learn a lesson from these children. Ultimately, the children stressed their unity, regardless of their disagreements.

"Fatah" boy: When we finish playing, we sit and talk, because we are friends.

Children singing: We declare with all honesty that we want national unity between Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP.

Reporter: We suggested new ideas for games to these children, but they were hesitant. We offered to join their game, but they said: "We don't want grown-ups to join our game and ruin it. We all belong to the same homeland, and we don't want to forget this."