Israel seizes 4,000 Palestinian stone-thrower dolls

Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, said: “These dolls were making their way to the Palestinian Authority with one clear purpose, and that was to poison the minds of innocent children. The Palestinians are continuing to incite their youth using any means necessary to educate them about violence and hatred. Here, it’s in the form of a doll.”

 

Despite her claim, it was not entirely clear who the recipient was intended to be. The rightwing Israeli freesheet Israel Hayom reported this week that following the seizure Hotovely instructed the foreign ministry to send the dolls to “our delegations in order to show the countries of the world that are channeling funds into the PA that until a dramatic change takes place in the Palestinian education system … we won’t be able to conduct any dialogue with our neighbours.”

 

During a recent upsurge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians, both sides have accused each other of inciting violence. Since mid-September, Palestinians have killed 21 Israelis in stabbings, shootings and deliberate car crashes, while Israelis have killed 117 Palestinians, 76 of them said by Israel to be assailants.

 

In the most recent serious incident, on Monday a Palestinian driver rammed a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem, injuring a dozen people including an 18-month-old child.

 

Read More: Israel seizes 4,000 Palestinian stone-thrower dolls | World news | The Guardian