Actions Speak Louder

Right, like we believe this.

Reuters: Palestinians try to wean Gaza children from war---

GAZA (Reuters) - "Freedom for Palestine!" chants 9-year-old Ahmad Abu Sharia in a Gaza Strip refugee camp, as he listens to a small radio bringing news of Israeli air strikes.

"I want to become a commander in al-Aqsa," he says, referring to one of the main Palestinian militant groups, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

Abu Sharia's dream of fighting Israel and perhaps achieving fame as a "martyr" is one shared by many of his friends and other youngsters in the Gaza Strip, a militant stronghold in an uprising against Israel since 2000.

But Israeli troops left the territory last month to end 38 years of military rule, under what the Jewish state billed a "disengagement" from conflict and militants branded a victory.

Palestinians trying to rebuild the Gaza Strip must now deal with the legacy of a culture of martyrdom and militancy that appears better suited to years of violence than to making the territory a model for statehood.

"Cutting poverty and unemployment, and creating a conducive atmosphere to reduce militant tendencies among children is the top priority," said Ghassan al-Khatib, Palestinian planning minister.

"We are looking to develop the right kinds of programs that will absorb their energy, and channel it in the right direction," he told Reuters.

The government is focusing on improving school curricula and fostering an environment to help children focus on education, civic duties and eventually finding jobs, Khatib said.

Meanwhile, authorities have slapped whitewash on Gaza Strip walls to cover up the murals of "martyrs," mostly young men, brandishing assault rifles or showing off suicide bomb belts.

ROLE MODELS

"We don't have athletes, or movie stars or other celebrities that the children can look up to," said Eyad Sarraj, a prominent Gaza psychiatrist and human rights activist.

"Anyone who fights Israel is a role model. Militants and martyrs are the only role models here."