Young Palestinian men take part in military graduation ceremony at summer camp

Islamic Jihad summer camp: Young Palestinian men graduate from military-style training school in Gaza

  • Every summer, terror organisation Palestinian Islamic Jihad runs camps throughout the Gaza strip
  • Tens of thousands of children and young adults are taught military skills and the group’s Islamist ideology 
  • At a graduation ceremony in Gaza City on Thursday, young Palestinians showed off what they had learned 
  • Young people wielded wooden AK rifles, pulled off feats of strength and gave one-fingered salutes 

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Thousands of young Palestinians showed off their newly-acquired military skills in Gaza City on Thursday as they graduated from a summer camp run by terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Every year, tens of thousands of youths – from children to teenagers – take part in camps run by the PIJ across Gaza which include activities such as military drills and shooting practice. 

The PIJ also provides the youngsters with ‘religious education’ into the group’s extreme Islamist philosophy, which preaches the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an autonomous Palestinian state on the lands it currently occupies.

Young Palestinians show off their newly-acquired military skills at the graduation ceremony for a summer camp organised by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza City

The PIJ - a terror organisation that preaches the destruction of Israel and establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state on the land it now occupies - is one of the three largest groups to run summer camps in Gaza (pictured, graduates at a ceremony in Gaza City on Thursday)

The PIJ – a terror organisation that preaches the destruction of Israel and establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state on the land it now occupies – is one of the three largest groups to run summer camps in Gaza (pictured, graduates at a ceremony in Gaza City on Thursday)

While graduates showing off their skills on Thursday (pictured) were teenagers, children as young as 12 are allowed to take part in the experience which typically lasts two weeks

While graduates showing off their skills on Thursday (pictured) were teenagers, children as young as 12 are allowed to take part in the experience which typically lasts two weeks

The PIJ runs two kinds of camp - one purely military and another that includes a mixture of activities. The military camp features drills with wooden weapons (pictured), including how to capture Israeli troops

The PIJ runs two kinds of camp – one purely military and another that includes a mixture of activities. The military camp features drills with wooden weapons (pictured), including how to capture Israeli troops

A masked young Palestinian takes part in a military-style graduation ceremony at a summer camp organised by Islamic Jihad

A masked young Palestinian takes part in a military-style graduation ceremony at a summer camp organised by Islamic Jihad

The PIJ camps also include 'religious education' into the groups extreme Islamist ideology which preaches the destruction of Israel and defeat of the 'Zionist enemy'

The PIJ camps also include ‘religious education’ into the groups extreme Islamist ideology which preaches the destruction of Israel and defeat of the ‘Zionist enemy’

Camp graduates give a one-finger salute, a reference to the 'oneness of God' and fundamentalist Islamic teachings

Camp graduates give a one-finger salute, a reference to the ‘oneness of God’ and fundamentalist Islamic teachings

At the graduation ceremony in Gaza City on Thursday, young men posed with wooden cut-outs of AK-47 rifles, pulled off feats of strength such as building a human tower and judo-style wrestling, and gave one-fingered salutes a reference to the ‘oneness of God’ and fundamentalist Islamic teachings.

Going to summer camp is a common activity for Palestinian children, and the PIJ is one of the three largest groups running camps, the other two being Hamas and the UN.

A 2013 report by the Israeli Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center found that up to 100,000 youngsters attend the camps each year, ranging from children as young as 12 to young adults.

The PIJ runs two kinds of camps – one purely military and another that encompasses a range of activities – each lasting around two weeks. The organisation encourages media coverage.

A camp counsellor quoted by researchers said the purpose was to train a generation to fight the ‘Zionist enemy’ and a generation faithful to the Qur’an, in line with the teachings of PIJ founder Fathi Shaqaqi.

Drills at the military camp include how to raid an Israeli military outpost and capture one of its soldiers, and how to use machine-guns and other weapons, according to pro-Israel The Tower Magazine.

Other camps sponsored by PIJ offer cultural activities, entertainment, security lessons, marksmanship, and ‘advice on the dangers of social networking sites and drug use’, according to the magazine.

Tens of thousands of youngsters take part in the camps each year. Activities include target practice, raiding Israeli outposts and how to operate machine guns

Tens of thousands of youngsters take part in the camps each year. Activities include target practice, raiding Israeli outposts and how to operate machine guns

Palestinian Islamic Jihadi encourages media coverage of their camps and invited photographers to graduation ceremonies

Palestinian Islamic Jihadi encourages media coverage of their camps and invited photographers to graduation ceremonies

Summer camps are a common activity for Palestinian children, and the three largest organisations running them are Hamas, PIJ and the United Nations

Summer camps are a common activity for Palestinian children, and the three largest organisations running them are Hamas, PIJ and the United Nations 

oung Palestinians during a military-style graduation ceremony organised by the Islamic Jihad movement

oung Palestinians during a military-style graduation ceremony organised by the Islamic Jihad movement

PIJ camp graduates lie prone while holding wooden models of AK rifles as they demonstrate their new military skills

PIJ camp graduates lie prone while holding wooden models of AK rifles as they demonstrate their new military skills

A poster bearing the image of Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Secretary-General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad

A poster bearing the image of Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Secretary-General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk