A new character has been introduced on the Hamas children’s television show “Pioneers of Tomorrow,” the teddy bear Nassur, who immediately expressed a desire to be an Islamic “holy warrior” and carry a gun.
Likely, he won’t be around long, though.
WND reported when Assud, a bunny character, was “martyred” on the program, as well as when a Mickey Mouse-lookalike earlier was “martyred” for the Palestinian cause.
The new report comes from the Middle East Media Research Institute, which has posted the video on its website, which requires viewers to register and log in.
The brief program excerpt shows the teddy bear, Nassur, lounging on a chair in a room with children’s toys.
Nassur, a new children’s character on Hamas TV |
“I have come today to the Gaza Strip. Saraa, Allah willing, I will be one of the mujahideen, one of the fighters,” Nassur states. “I will join the ranks of the ‘Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades,’ and I will wage jihad among them and carry a gun.”
Addressing Saraa, the child hostess of the program, he continues, “Do you know why?”
“Why,” says Saraa.
“To defend the children of Palestine,” Nassur says.
Befire the bunny Assud recently was “martyred,” he gave a lengthy message to children that they must occupy Israeli cities.
“We should teach our children that we have a land to which we must return: Jaffa, Acre, Haifa, and Tel Aviv,” said Assud. “We will return to all these cities, Allah willing.”
Previously on the program, Assud was caught stealing and sentenced to having his hand cut off, although the penalty later was lifted because he repented.
Earlier episodes of the program featured President Bush being “killed” as well as a children’s Mickey Mouse-lookalike who also was “martyred” for the Palestinian cause.
The latest episode on the program “Pioneers of Tomorrow”, broadcast on Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV, was aired Feb. 13 MEMRI said.
Arab television character Assud, who on his “deathbed” boasts of his “martry’s” death and calls for the “liberation” of Tel Aviv |
In January, the “dying” bunny said, “The Zionist enemy is treacherous, and it kills everything, but I never thought it would kill the children of Palestine, and that it would bomb the Al-Aqsa TV station. As you know, Saraa, Al-Aqsa TV has a special section for children. Children always go there to play and have fun. They come to me and you to listen to beautiful stories for their benefit.
“But Saraa,”Assud said, “I went to Al-Aqsa TV when they said it would be bombed. I couldn’t believe it would really be bombed. I went there, and I collected the gifts, books, magazines, and stories, which belong to the children of Palestine, the Pioneers of Tomorrow, so I could remove them before the station was bombed. But Saraa, when I went in – I don’t know what happened. All I know is that they brought me here, to Shifa’ Hospital, and left me here, Saraa. Praise be to Allah.” […]
Assud continued: “Saraa, my will is that you tell our beloved children never to forget Jerusalem, Saraa. You must pass this legacy on to our beloved children. They must never forget Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, the prisoners, or the refugees.
“Remind them, Saraa, that we have a land to which we must return, by means of the steadfastness of the resistance and the mujahideen, by means of the steadfastness of knowledge and the fear of God. Tell them that Assud died as a hero, as a martyr. Tell them that Assud died a martyr’s death, Saraa.”[…]
“We should teach our children that we have a land to which we must return: Jaffa, Acre, Haifa, and Tel Aviv. We will return to all these cities, Allah willing,” the character continued.
“Saraa, I implore you… I entrust you with the legacy of protecting Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the blessed land of Palestine. Listen to me, Saraa: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and the Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” Assud said.
MEMRI is an independent nonprofit that provides translations of media reports from the Middle East and analysis of those reports.
The organization previously reported on Palestinian messages to children through Nahoul, the bee who wept over his “martyred” family.
Hamas, which won a majority in parliament in January 2006 elections, officially is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. As WND reported, a prominent Hamas leader was captured on video boasting of using children, women and the elderly as human shields in its firefights with Israeli soldiers.
WND also reported Hamas launched a children’s website in 2002 that encourages kids to follow the example of terrorist suicide bombers.