IDF: Boy threatened to stab soldiers on Rte. 443

Palestinian child then escaped to nearby village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, army says

A Palestinian boy, estimated to be eight years old, threatened to stab soldiers near a West Bank checkpoint close to Route 443 on Thursday, the IDF reported.

According to the report, he arrived at the checkpoint and, after a few seconds, pulled out a large knife, shouted at the soldiers and threw the knife at them. No injuries were reported.

The boy then escaped to the nearby village of Beit Ur al-Tahta.

Palestinian sources suggested that the knife might have been planted on the boy by Israel.

The Palestinian Maan news agency wrote that “Eyewitnesses have also said in a number of cases that Israeli security forces planted knives on slain or imprisoned Palestinians to claim that they were acting in self-defense during a stabbing attack.

The increasingly common phenomenon of under-age attackers has been attributed to incitement in the Palestinian education system.

Last week, the European Parliament’s budgetary committee voted to freeze more than €15 million from the Palestinian Authority if they do not reform their textbooks.

“The reserve will be released,” the bill reads, “when the Palestinian Authority has committed to reform its school curriculum and textbooks to bring them in line with UNESCO standards for peace and tolerance in school education.”

The bill, an amendment to the EU’s draft budget proposed by Budgetary Control Committee chairwoman MEP Dr. Ingeborg Grässle, is expected to go to a plenary vote on October 24.

If the bill passes the plenary vote, the EU will withhold €15,440,597 until the Palestinian Authority revises its textbooks.

The European Union is the largest single donor to the Palestinian Authority.

Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.