The Hamas government in Gaza celebrated the graduation on Tuesday of some 13,000 high school students who spent the last six days learning how to be terrorists.
The Hamas-run training camps, for teens in grades 10-12, provide weapons training, first aid, self-defense and “security awareness” classes on identifying Israeli spies, The Times of Israel reported.
About 13,000 teens enrolled over the past week at nearly a dozen sites across the Gaza Strip for the six-day program, called Futuwwa, with trainers from Hamas’ military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
The number of graduates increased significantly from the 5,000 last year when the program was launched by the ministries of education and interior.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh gave a speech at the graduation celebration Tuesday, blasting Israel and taking note of the female trainers on staff that “oversee the training of the young women to follow in the footsteps of the female suicide operatives,” he said.
Interior Minister Fathi Hammad said the training was in preparation for an impending war with Israel.
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“This generation is a sapling from God on earth. It will harvest the enemies of God and be the pride of all nations,” he said, The Times reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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