by Natalie Lisbona, Daily Mail
… with the parents then intimidated into silence
Children in Gaza are being raped and then blackmailed into joining Hamas or having their sexual abuse made public, investigators in the enclave say.
The Daily Mail has obtained filmed testimony from Jusoor News in Gaza showing the children’s disturbing allegations.
In the video, two boys aged just nine and ten anonymously describe every parent’s worst nightmare.
[…] A former Palestinian authority security officer, whose name we can not publish, claims Hamas clerics use rape as a tactic to coerce young boys and their families to remain ‘obedient and submissive’ to Hamas.
‘It’s a method used to bind them… so you can’t leave them,’ he said, adding that he knows of ‘maybe four or five such cases. People I know well.’
The former security officer added: ‘It’s not just sexual abuse, it’s rape,’ describing how afterwards they go after the children’s families to prevent them from speaking.
‘If you open your mouth they will destroy you and your entire household,’ he stated, adding that Hamas always ‘stands by [the accused] – there’s no disciplinary action.’
A spokesman from Jusoor told the Daily Mail: ‘In Gaza, it’s a tactic used by Hamas to instill fear in young boys and pressure them into joining later.
‘In our reporting from Gaza, we found that orphaned children and unmarried women are being subjected to harassment and exploitation by Hamas. Unfortunately, we have heard far too many of these stories.