The Black Vault - Palestinian Baby 'Bomber' Photo Stirs Controversy

By Timothy Heritage - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A photograph showing a Palestinian toddler dressed as a suicide bomber caused outrage in Israel on Friday after it was released by the Israeli army, precipitating another war of words with the Palestinians.

Palestinian officials dismissed it as a propaganda trick by Israel to justify pressing on with an army offensive in the West Bank. Relatives said the photograph was genuine but was taken for fun.

The photograph shows a boy who appears to be younger than two years old standing up in a baby suit and wearing a small fake explosives belt with red wires attached. He also wears a red headband similar to those worn by Palestinian militants.

The army said it had found the photograph in a family album during a search of a wanted militant's home in Hebron in the West Bank on Tuesday and cited it as evidence that Palestinians were sowing hatred of Jews in children at a young age.

"What is obvious is that Palestinians are feeding the hatred of Jews and Israelis to their children at the earliest possible age," said David Baker, an official in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The Maariv newspaper printed the photograph under a headline that screamed: "Terror in diapers." The daily Yedioth Ahronoth called it a "hair-raising costume" and the Jerusalem Post printed the photograph with the headline: "Born to kill."

RELATIVES SAY IT WAS A "JOKE"

Palestinian officials rejected the Israeli accusations and said Israel had released the photograph to justify a military offensive in which it has reoccupied seven Palestinian-ruled cities in the West Bank after two suicide bombings in Jerusalem last week.

"They are using this photo to justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and go on with their occupation of the Palestinian territories," Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said.

A cousin of the wanted militant, whose name was not released by the Israeli authorities, told Reuters that the young boy had been dressed as a suicide bomber for fun during a family party.

"What's all the fuss about? It was all a joke," he said, but declined to be identified.

Children have been seen dressed up as suicide bombers at school ceremonies and rallies supporting militants spearheading the uprising against Israel's occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories taken in the 1967 Middle East war.

Palestinians said the photograph did not mean Palestinians were about to use children in suicide bombings to emulate the militants, who have carried out scores of attacks on Israelis in the revolt that began in September 2000 after peace talks froze.

"People dressed this child up as a suicide bomber just as in people in Britain might dress a child in their favorite soccer team's strip," said Palestinian Labour Minister Ghassan al-Khatib.

He said many Palestinians glorified suicide bombers, and that this was a sign of their despair after many years of living under Israeli occupation.

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