Photo of Palestinian Baby 'Bomber' Raises Row

Yahoo (Reuters) ^ | 6/28/02 | Reuters

[The_Victor]

Photo of Palestinian Baby 'Bomber' Raises Row
Fri Jun 28, 8:25 AM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli army has released a photograph of a toddler dressed as a suicide bomber that it says was discovered in a Palestinian militant's house in the West Bank city of Hebron.

The authenticity of the photograph could not be verified, but its publication in Israeli newspapers on Friday triggered a new war of words between Israel and the Palestinian Authority ( news - web sites).

The army said troops found the photograph in a family album while searching the house of a wanted Palestinian militant on Tuesday night. It shows a boy who appears to be younger than two years old standing up in a baby suit and wearing a small explosives belt with red wires attached. He also wears a red headband similar to those worn by Palestinian militants.

The army did not release the name of the family or say whether it thought the bomb-belt was real.

"What is obvious is that Palestinians are feeding the hatred of Jews and Israelis to their children at the earliest possible age," said David Baker, an official in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ( news - web sites).

Palestinian officials dismissed it as a propaganda trick.

"This is cheap Israeli propaganda. They are using this photo to justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and to go on with their occupation of the Palestinian territories," Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said.

"These photos can easily be forged and distributed, and this has been done by the Israeli media several times before."

Ordinary Palestinians said if the photograph were genuine it was likely the child had been dressed up for fun and did not mean Palestinians were about to use children in suicide bombings -- something they have never done.

Children have been seen dressed up as suicide bombers at school ceremonies and rallies supporting militants spearheading a 21-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation.

Asked whether the army would take reporters to the house to verify the authenticity of the photograph, an army spokeswoman said this was not immediately possible because Hebron was a "closed military zone" from which journalists were barred.

Hebron is one of seven Palestinian-ruled cities that Israeli troops have occupied in the West Bank after two suicide bombings carried out in Jerusalem last week by Palestinian militants.

[The_Victor]

Ordinary Palestinians said if the photograph were genuine it was likely the child had been dressed up for fun

This is what passes for fun according to Palestinians?!?!?!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

What'd you expect from monsters ?

[mikeb704]

Has to be legit. I saw the picture on Drudge.

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[Piquaboy]

I guess that this is their substitute for abortion.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

A picture released by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) June 27, 2002 shows what they allege to be a photo of a Palestinian baby dressed like a suicide bomber. The IDF said they found the photo during a search in a house of a wanted Palestinian man from Hebron, where Israeli army tanks and helicopter gunships have been poundeding a Palestinan police building. REUTERS/HO/Israel Defence Forces

[JudyB1938]

Did you stop sending out emails for when you added an article to your site? I don't get them any more and forget to go to your site to check.

[TomGuy]

"This is cheap Israeli propaganda. They are using this photo to justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and to go on with their occupation of the Palestinian territories."

Yeh. The Pali's wouldn't do anything like that, would they. Nah, no propaganda from them. Nah, that funeral video was for a movie-of-the-week, right? I never saw a corpse run so fast when the helicopter showed up. Just the sight and noise of the helicoptor was enough to--yeh, gotta say it--raise the dead.

[Mike K]

There's something wrong with that photo. The background is darkened and the left leg is not symmetrical with the right, or the rest of the body of a baby that size.
As much as I believe the Pali's would do this, this one may be a creation of someone else.

[tacticalogic]

There's something wrong with that photo. The background is darkened and the left leg is not symmetrical with the right, or the rest of the body of a baby that size. As much as I believe the Pali's would do this, this one may be a creation of someone else.

While you may be right, it doesn't seem logicial that someone doctoring a photo would have done anything with the legs. They'd have started with a comlete photo of the child, and patched the explosives in on top of it, and the inconsistencies would be between the explosives and the rest of the photo. IMHO.

[goldstategop]

The Palestinians are not even Muslims. Strip away the veneer of religion and what you see are PAGANS. That's who they really are. I can't imagine ANY civilized person doing THAT to a child. Now then a pagan is someone who is EVIL and to whom anything may be done. Just ask the Church Fathers who fought them in the Roman Empire.

[1234]

the little darling's got such a light complexion-didn't know this was possible for pali's....racial profilin wouldn't seem to be feasible, in this instance.

[The Great RJ]

Not really surprising --about 60 years ago you would have found toddlers sporting swastikas in Nazi Germany. Radical Islam has become the nazism of the 21st century

[dagoofyfoot]

The little guy looks like he's just realized what the outfit means! Those big eyes have the expression of shock,(or horror) as if he knows he'll never see "Sesame Street"!

[AmericanInTokyo]

For all intents and purposes, we have PLENTY of other photographs showing Palestinians and Lebanese dressing up their toddlers in homicide bomber outfits. This is sick. We have all the evidence we need. I dont see my Mossad or the IDF would even have to fake this. The evidence and track record of the insanity of Radical Islamists is already on the table!!!!!!!

[AmericanInTokyo]

of course, the Mossad isn't 'mine'... but nonetheless I don't see a smokin' gun here. just more evidence of what we already know. we deal with an insane, uncivilized adversary

[Tennessee_Bob]

Palestinian officials dismissed it as a propaganda trick.

"This is cheap Israeli propaganda. They are using this photo to justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and to go on with their occupation of the Palestinian territories," Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said.

"These photos can easily be forged and distributed, and this has been done by the Israeli media several times before."

"...can be...has been done..." Did anyone see a denial that this is a real picture? Or did anyone see a direct accusation by the Palestinian official that the Israelis had done this picture? I didn't.

[RoughDobermann]

Where's the link to that thread that had numerous pictures of young Pali children with AKs, dressed up as suicide bombers, etc.? Those pictures were definitely not faked.

[mac_truck]

Now then a pagan is someone who is EVIL and to whom anything may be done.

You're kidding, right?

[Cachelot]

The background is darkened and the left leg is not symmetrical with the right, or the rest of the body of a baby that size. As much as I believe the Pali's would do this, this one may be a creation of someone else.

The photo is real. The bacground is darkened has nothing to do with anything, and as for your observation that the legs are not symmetrical: if you look carefully (you may have to blow the pic up a bit, and I was lucky enough to get hold of a large print) - you'll see that what is obscuring part of one leg is in fact one of the ends of that bomb harness thing, just hanging free and in front of the leg.

Plus, the family confirms the pic but insists it was a "joke". "Lots of kids mimics the fighters", I think was one of the palie excuses.