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  • 6
    days
    ago

    Boys learn combat skills at Hamas-run summer camp

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Palestinian boys perform exercises at a summer camp run by Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas near the border between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, Gaza Strip, June12, 2013.

    ANSAmed: GAZA - As schools close for the summer in Gaza, children from age six to 16 are taking part in recreation camps organised by both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movements in a paramilitary style.

    At the camps, the children receive arms made of wood and take part in exercises which simulate combat. In several cases they are called upon to crawl under barbed wire and demonstrate their courage avoiding fire.

    In one recent case they simulated an attack on a small Israeli fort. Continue reading.

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Hamas camps for children and youths in the Gaza Strip start in June every year. Hamas teach the children athletic games, scouts activities, reading, hunting, basic military exercises, as well as providing religion classes.

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Palestinian boys listen to an instructor demonstrating how to use an assault rifle.

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Palestinian boys, pictured through a canvas which provides shade to Hamas camp instructors, perform exercises at the camp.

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Related content:

    • New Gaza law mandates gender segregation in Palestinian schools
    • Hero's welcome as exiled Hamas leader returns to Gaza
    • With truce holding, children in Gaza return to school for the first time since fierce fighting began

    168 comments

    This is just sickening and exploitative.

    Show more
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  • 2
    Apr
    2013
    3:59pm, EDT

    New Gaza law mandates gender segregation in Palestinian schools

    Mahmud Hams / AFP - Getty Images

    A Palestinian teacher speaks in class at a school in Gaza City on April 2.

    Mohammed Salem / Reuters

    Palestinian school children raise their hands during a class in al-Qahera elementary school in Gaza City on April 2. New rules from the Education Ministry of the Islamist Hamas movement ruling the Gaza Strip will bar men from teaching at girls' schools and mandate separate classes for boys and girls from the age of nine.

    By Dalia Nammari, Ibrahim Barzak, The Associated Press

    Starting with the new school year in September, Gaza boys and girls in middle and high school will be breaking the law if they study side by side.

    Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers argue that the new legislation, mandating gender separation in schools from age nine, enshrines common practice. But women's activists warned Tuesday that it's another step in the Hamas agenda of imposing its fundamentalist world view on Gaza's 1.7 million people. Continue reading.

    Hatem Moussa / AP

    Palestinian school girls and boys walk in front of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency elementary school in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, on April 2. Gaza's Hamas-controlled parliament has passed a law requiring separate classes for boys and girls in public and private schools from the fourth grade. Currently, boys and girls are separated in grade seven in public schools, but private schools can set their own rules.

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

    • Palestinian unity? Fatah holds first mass Gaza rally in years
    • Hero's welcome as exiled Hamas leader returns to Gaza
    • Gazans work to reopen tunnels bombed by Israel
    • With truce holding, children in Gaza return to school for the first time since fierce fighting began

     

    25 comments

    The border between Muslim Brotherhood run Egypt and Hamas run Gaza has melted. Soon Sharia law will make Egypt and Gaza indistinguishable.

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    Explore related topics: hamas, education, school, gaza, palestinian, gaza-strip, world-news
  • 8
    Dec
    2012
    1:37pm, EST

    Hero's welcome as exiled Hamas leader returns to Gaza

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal gestures to the crowd during a rally marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas in Gaza City on Dec. 8.

    Reuters reports: Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in an uncompromising speech during his first ever visit to Gaza after decades of exile, told a mass rally on Saturday he would never recognize Israel and pledged to "free the land of Palestine inch by inch." A sea of flag-waving supporters filled wasteland in Gaza city to hear his fiery speech at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of his Islamist group, which has ruled Gaza - a small splinter of coastal land - since 2007. Full Story

    Meshal arrived Friday for his first visit to Gaza since 1967, when he left at the age of 11 as Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War.

     

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, left, and senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, right, wave to the crowd as they leave a rally in Gaza City on Dec. 8.

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Young Hamas supporters attenda rally for the 25th anniversary of the ruling party in Gaza City on Dec. 8.

    Oliver Weiken / EPA

    Palestinians watch the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Hamas movement in Gaza City on Dec. 8.

    Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters

    A Palestinian woman gestures during a rally marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas in Gaza City.

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    A Palestinian boy wearing a military suit and acarrying mock missile shakes hands with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal during a rally marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas in Gaza City on Dec. 8.

    Also on PhotoBlog:

    • Gazans work to reopen tunnels bombed by Israel
    • With truce holding, children in Gaza return to school for the first time since fierce fighting began
    • After 8 days of violence, a chance to draw breath in Gaza and Israel
    • Palestinians take to the streets to celebrate cease-fire with Israel

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

     

    79 comments

    These links were graciously provided by FedupwithFed on another article yesterday. http://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-gather-in-gaza-for-hamas-anniversary/ http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-pressured-egypt-to-keep-islamic-jihad-leaders-out-of-gaza-report-says/ The truce was breached by rockets f …

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  • 18
    Oct
    2012
    5:51pm, EDT

    Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters

    Hamas militants hold weapons during a march in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, marking the anniversary of a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, Oct. 18, 2012. Last year, Israel freed more than 1,000 jailed Palestinians in a swap for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza.

    Gaza hails anniversary of prisoner swap deal

    AFP reports — Gaza celebrated Thursday a victory one year ago when Israel began freeing 1,027 prisoners in exchange for the release of a soldier held captive by militants for five years.

    Celebrations organized by the ruling Hamas movement began in the early morning with hundreds of militants from the Islamist group's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, marching through Gaza City, an AFP correspondent reported.

    Comment

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  • 18
    Dec
    2011
    9:14pm, EST

    Remaining 550 Palestinian prisoners are released to complete Israeli deal with Hamas

    Eyad Baba / AP

    A Palestinian prisoner is greeted by an unidentified relative after his release at the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Dec. 18. Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners late Sunday, the second and final phase of a swap with Gaza Hamas militants that brought home an Israeli soldier after five years in captivity.

    Majdi Mohammed / AP

    Released Palestinian prisoners celebrate as they arrive to the West Bank city of Ramallah, early Monday, Dec. 19. Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners late Sunday, the second and final phase of a swap with Gaza Hamas militants that brought home an Israeli soldier after five years in captivity.

    AP reports:

    Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners late Sunday, the second and final phase of a swap with Gaza Hamas militants that brought home an Israeli soldier after five years in captivity.

    Under the Egypt-brokered deal, Israel agreed to exchange a total of 1,027 prisoners for Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Gaza militants in June 2006. Schalit returned home in October when Israel freed the first batch of 477 prisoners. Sunday's release of 550 prisoners completed the swap, the most lopsided in Israel's history.

    The release Sunday night was not infused with the same drama as the first phase, since the most significant players in the trade had already been freed. Continue reading.

    See our PhotoBlog post on Gilad Schalit's release in October.

    Related content:

    • Freed Gilad Schalit says he is in good health
    • First picture of released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit
    • Gilad Schalit's parents head for air base to be reunited with their son

    Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters

    A freed Palestinian prisoner is greeted by people upon arrival at Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 18. Israel plans to release 550 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday in the second stage of a deal with Hamas that brought home soldier Gilad Shalit after five years of captivity in the Gaza Strip.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

    A Palestinian prisoner celebrates during his release on Dec 18 in Ramallah, West Bank. Israel released 550 Palestinian prisoners to complete a swap deal which brought about the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit.

     

    6 comments

    This trade is indicative of Israel's willingness to negotiate and the uneven demands of the Palestinians, backed by their terrorist friends in Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.

    Show more
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  • 18
    Oct
    2011
    12:03pm, EDT

    Hamas frees Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in prisoner swap

    Israeli Defense Forces via AP

    In this photo released by the Israeli Government Press Office, released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, center, salutes as he is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, at the Tel Nof Air base in southern Israel on Oct. 18. Looking thin, weary and dazed, the Israeli soldier returned home Tuesday from more than five years of captivity in the Gaza Strip in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners whose joyful families greeted them with massive celebrations.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

    Israeli supporters of captive soldier Gilad Shalit celebrate on his arrival to his home on October 18 in Mitzpe Hila, Israel. Shalit was freed after being held captive for five years in Gaza by Hamas militants, in a deal which saw Israel releasing more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners

     

    From msnbc.com news services:

    JERUSALEM  — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and hundreds of Palestinians crossed Israel's borders in opposite directions on Tuesday as a thousand-for-one prisoner exchange brought joy to families but did little to ease decades of conflict.

    Sergeant Shalit, 25, returned home to a national outpouring of emotion in Israel after five years in captivity in the Gaza Strip, while the first few hundred of over a thousand Palestinians being freed in stages from Israeli jails were greeted with kisses and flags in Gaza and the West Bank.

    "I missed my family," a pale and extremely thin Shalit said in an interview with Egyptian TV conducted before he was transferred to Israel and broadcast after he went free.

    "I hope this deal will promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians," said Shalit, whose breathing labored at times.

    Click here to see images of Palestinian families waiting for their released relatives.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

    • Freed Gilad Schalit says he is in good health
    • First picture of released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit
    • Gilad Schalit's parents head for air base to be reunited with their son

    Comment

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  • 12
    Oct
    2011
    1:57pm, EDT

    Euphoria mixed with anxiety in Israel over swap

    AP reports:

    JERUSALEM — Israeli euphoria over a deal to free a soldier held for five years by Hamas gave way Wednesday to growing anxiety that the swap for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted of murder, could lead to new violence.

    When Israelis first got word Tuesday night of the deal to free Sgt. Gilad Shalit, they erupted in spontaneous celebrations. But that joy was tempered when they learned that about 300 Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis would be among the 1,027 released in exchange.

    Previous PhotoBlog posts on Gilad Shalit.

    Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP

    Israeli President Shimon Peres, right, hugs Noam Schalit, center, the father of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, as his wife Aviva looks on, at the President's residence in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Oct. 12. Israeli euphoria over a prisoner swap deal to free a soldier held by Hamas militants for five years gave way on Wednesday to a growing anxiety that the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted of murder, could lead to a new round of violence.

    Said Khatib / AFP - Getty Images

    Palestinians celebrate a deal that will see Palestinian detainees freed in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit on October 12 in Gaza City.

    Abed Al Hashlamoun / EPA

    Palestinians demonstrate in support of Palestinian prisoners held in the Israeli jails, on October 12 in the West Bank city of Hebron.

    Mohammed Salem / Reuters

    Palestinian women take part in a rally calling for the release of their sons held in Israeli jails, inside the headquarters of the International Red Cross in Gaza City October 12.

    Mohammed Salem / Reuters

    Members of Hamas national security forces patrol a street as they celebrate a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City October 12.

     

    4 comments

    Hmm prison , battles between countries , why did they like wars like that ? It will not bring any good results if these wars keep happening . There are more bad news in wars than good news ... Regards Tuan From effectsofanxiety.net

    Show more
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  • 11
    Oct
    2011
    7:16pm, EDT

    Deal reached to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit

    By Rich Shulman

    If Israel and Hamas can pull off a deal like this, what's next for the peace process?

    AP reports:

    JERUSALEM — Israeli and Hamas have reached a deal to free a captured Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, officials from both sides said Tuesday, capping five years of painful negotiations that have repeatedly collapsed in fingerpointing and violence.

    The deal would bring home Sgt. Gilad Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid in June 2006 by Palestinian militants who burrowed into Israel and dragged him into Gaza. Little has been known about his fate since then.

    Mohammed Salem / Reuters

    Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally as they celebrate news of a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip October 11. Israel and Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers agreed on Tuesday to swap more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Israeli captive soldier Gilad Schalit, resolving one of the most emotive and intractable issues between them.

     


    Gali Tibbon / AFP - Getty Images

    Friends and supporters of Noam and Aviva Schalit, parents of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit who was captured in 2006 by Hamas-allied militants in the Gaza Strip, sit at the family's protest tent on the 1,934th day for their son's captivity outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on October 11. According to a senior Palestinian official, Israel will free key Palestinian leader Marwan Barghuti under a prisoner deal in exchange for the release of captive soldier Gilad Schalit.

    Said Khatib / AFP - Getty Images

    Holding a portrait of her son, the mother of Hassan Salame watches a television broadcasting the speech of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaa, celebrating a deal that will see Palestinian detainees freed in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. Salame is one of the founders of Hamas armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassan Brigades, and is the mastermind of several deadly attacks committed in Israel.

    Abir Sultan / EPA

    Mother Aviva Schalit and father Noam Schalit of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in the protest tent in Jerusalem on October 11.

     

    2 comments

    Fascist much? Sounds a lot like what the Nazis did, doesn't it?

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  • 28
    Apr
    2011
    6:15am, EDT

    Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP - Getty Images

    A Palestinian man reads the Al-Quds newspaper at a coffee shop in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on April 28, a day after a surprise deal to end decades of rivalry between Fatah and Hamas was welcomed by the Palestinian leadership as the parties begin work to set up a new government. The newspaper's headline reads in Arabic, "Fatah and Hamas end the division and sign a reconciliation agreement".

    Pondering the Palestinian reconciliation deal

    Read more about the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas and Israel's response.

    Comment

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  • 2
    Apr
    2011
    7:27pm, EDT

    Palestinian funeral: Israeli airstrike kills 3 Gaza militants

    Mohammed Saber / EPA

    Palestinian Hamas members carry the body of senior Hamas militant Ismail Lubad, 42, during his funeral in Al Shatea refugee camp in the west of Gaza City on Saturday, April 2. Three Hamas militants were killed early Saturday in an Israeli airstrike on a car they were travelling in near the southern Gaza Strip city of Kahn Younis, doctors and Hamas sources said. The Israeli airstrike came a few days of relative calm. Last month the Gaza Strip witnessed an escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza militants, where at least 13 Palestinians were killed and more than 30 wounded. Around 30 Israelis were injured.

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Palestinian Hamas members carry the body of senior Hamas militant Ismail Lubad, 42, during his funeral in Al Shatea refugee camp in the west of Gaza City, on Saturday.

    Ali Ali / EPA

    Palestinian relatives of senior Hamas militant Ismail Lubad, 42, react during his funeral in Al Shatea refugee camp in the west of Gaza City on Saturday.

    Read the New York Times story here.

    2 comments

    .Stop firing rockets and you won't be targeted. Hamas all needs to die their all terrorists.

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  • 7
    Jan
    2011
    10:13am, EST

    AMMAR AWAD / Reuters

    Palestinian men carry the body of Amr Qawasme during his funeral after he was killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron January 7, 2011. The Israeli troops killed the 65-year-old Palestinian in his bedroom on Friday during a pre-dawn raid to seize a Hamas suspect who lived in the same building in what the army admitted was a mistake.

    Funeral for Palestinian killed in raid

    .

    1 comment

    Oooooops?

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Rich Shulman

is a multimedia editor at msnbc.com. Before that, he was a picture editor at Corbis and the Director of Photography at the Everett, Wa. Herald.

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