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Hamas summer camps in the Gaza Strip

As during the past several summers, Hamas again organized summer camps, attended by about 100 thousand children and teenagers and this year called "Defender of Jerusalem." According to Hamas, the name was chosen to bring the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian national identity to the fore and make the younger generation aware of their importance. The summer camps provided three types of programs and activities: military and semi-military training, ideological indoctrination and Qur'an studies and memorization. The Hamas summer camps are organized by the Supreme Summer Camp Committee, headed by senior Hamas figure Muhammad Abu Askar. The committee launched a Facebook page for the camps but it was active for only a few days before it was removed or blocked. Therefore, unlike previous years, there is relatively little documentation of the camps' activities. In addition symbols and logos of Hamas and the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, its military-terrorist wing, have been blurred or downplayed. Also unlike other years, so far there has been no information about the camps' final date or closing ceremony, which in the past were attended by senior Hamas figures and received widespread media coverage Read more...

Despite Covid-19, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) held its annual summer camps, where Palestinian youths acquire paramilitary skills

This summer the mobilization unit of the PIJ's military wing held its annual summer camps for youths in the Gaza Strip, despite dealing with the fight against coronavirus infection. This year the camps were called the "al-amin ("the secretary") camps," in memory of Ramadan Abdallah Shalah, the PIJ secretary general who died on June 6, 2020. According to a report, the youths acquired paramilitary skills and heard lectures on security and "educational" topics. Read more...

Summer Camps in the Gaza Strip: A tool for indoctrinating the younger generation with radical ideologies and training them to become future operatives in the terrorist organizations, especially Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Every summer Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) conduct summer camps in the Gaza Strip for youngsters, mostly for high school students. Thousands of campers enjoy summer activities, which are combined with radical ideologies and paramilitary training. Hamas is the most prominent organization conducting summer camps (as a continuation of the military training in the high schools during the school year). Read more...

As part of the Hamas summer camps, children and youths undergo military and paramilitary training at the military wing’s outposts and facilities

As part of the summer camps for children and youth that are held annually, this year Hamas also organized summer camps at facilities and outposts of the Hamas military wing throughout the Gaza Strip. The camps opened on August 6, 2018, and are called Pioneers of the Liberation. The camps are held in two sessions (morning and evening). The instructors are military operatives, members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and the participants are children and youths, some of them in uniform, mainly the older ones. Read more...

Hamas announced the opening of summer camps for children and adolescents in the Gaza Strip. This year summer camps are inspired by the “return marches,” and include military training as they do every year

On July 14, 2018, the central committee of Hamas' summer camps in the Gaza Strip held a press conference to announce the opening of its summer camps. The theme this year is "I am returning to my homeland," inspired by the "return marches." Aspects of the marches have been integrated into camp activities, including launching balloons, throwing stones, collecting tires and glorifying the shaheeds killed during the "marches." Read more...

Hamas Summer Camps Continue Training the Younger Gazan Generation for the Armed Struggle against Israel

This year, as in previous years, summer camps were held throughout the Gaza Strip, attended by tens of thousands of Gazan children and adolescents. Most of the camps were organized by Hamas, some by other terrorist organizations and institutions. Read more...