Latest news with #HaMakom
Roya News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Roya News
'Israeli' facility lets children play ‘terrorist hunters' in simulated Palestinian village
A controversial "Israeli" facility, dubbed Fauda Base, is facing backlash after reports emerged that it allows children as young as six to engage in simulated undercover military operations, including dressing up as "terrorists" and conducting mock raids on a fabricated Palestinian village. The center, located in central "Israel", takes its name from the hit Netflix series Fauda, which dramatizes the actions of an elite "Israeli" undercover unit known as mista'arvim. These units operate disguised as Palestinians, often carrying out lethal operations in the occupied West Bank. The facility is operated by veterans from such units in collaboration with the "Israeli" entertainment company YES, the producer of the series. While the Fauda Base website claims its activities are designed for teens aged 15 and up (12 in its English version), an undercover report by HaMakom revealed that children as young as six have been permitted to participate in shooting simulations. However, the facility later denied this, stating that the minimum age for participants is 16. The experience, marketed as a chance to "go undercover," offers visitors a hands-on glimpse into life as a covert operative. According to its promotional materials, participants engage in 'a special operation and saving human lives,' while wearing gear associated with undercover forces—including mock firearms, military fatigues, and costumes resembling traditional Palestinian attire. 'What will you do when you hear them scream? Have you always dreamed of going undercover? Now's your chance to know what it's like to battle undercover,' the homepage reads. Screencap from the Fauda Base website Activities unfold in a fictional setting called 'El Mahmoudiya,' featuring a market, restaurants, and buildings designed to simulate a Palestinian village. A separate "Bedouin village" experience is also offered, advertised as an "authentic" cultural retreat following the mission. Visitors are assigned roles that include mista'arvim agents, 'terrorists,' and civilians. According to HaMakom's investigation, some participants darken their teeth and wear keffiyehs or fake beards to mimic Palestinians. The experience includes elements such as Krav Maga, urban combat training, and target shooting—though the facility insists all weapons are airsoft and no human targets are involved. Despite criticism, Fauda Base operators claim the experience is apolitical and not meant to educate. 'The activity at the Fauda Base is an experiential activity, not an educational one, full of love for the Arabic language and culture which is part of every good mista'arv person,' they said in a statement. Critics argue the facility reinforces dangerous stereotypes and militarizes children in a deeply polarized context. The "Israeli" mista'arvim units have long been controversial; their operations have included assassinations in the middle of Palestinian cities and even deadly raids in hospitals, as occurred in Jenin last year.
Middle East Eye
6 days ago
- General
- Middle East Eye
‘Fauda Base': Israeli children taught to play ‘terrorist' hunters in mock Palestinian town
A public Israeli facility is teaching children as young as six how to shoot firearms, become undercover operatives, dress as "terrorists" and play soldiers taking control of a Palestinian village, HaMakom reported on Tuesday. The facility, called "Fauda Base", is located in central Israel. It is named after the controversial Israeli Netflix series Fauda (meaning "chaos" in Arabic), which follows an elite mista'arvim undercover unit who spend their days infiltrating occupied Palestinian territories and killing Palestinians. The facility is run in collaboration with the company YES, which produces the hit TV series. It was established in 2021 by veteran members of Mista'arvim and other special units. Fauda Base simulates an espionage operation to save the country and captives, said one of the operators of the facility back in 2021. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Visitors can experience "a day in the life of a soldier in a special mista'arvim unit, participating in a special operation and saving human lives," according to the facility's website. "What will you do when you hear them scream? Have you always dreamed of going undercover? Now's your chance to know what it's like to battle undercover," reads the homepage. In addition, Fauda Base operators promise that visitors "will be able to shoot all kinds of guns used by special forces: M4s, Glocks, Uzis, Tavors, sniper rifles, Kalashnikovs, and more," referring to various weapons, some of them used by Israeli security forces. Hit TV show Andor spurs viewers to draw parallels to Israel's war on Gaza Read More » All weapons used in the facility are airsoft guns, according to the website. "For the most part, you will not be shooting at each other. Instead, you shoot at various targets." Mista'arvim units are known for their operations within civilian Palestinian population. Just last month, a mista'arvim unit assassinated a Palestinian man in Nablus in broad daylight. Last year, a mista'arvim unit raided a hospital in Jenin disguised as medical staff and women and killed three patients and civilians. 'Special operation' According to HaMakom, the facility's customers include labour unions, businesses, youth movements and education departments from local authorities, along with other groups that work with children and teens. Its flagship activity is called "Fauda special operation", in which participants must plan an operation in a Palestinian village after they are divided into different roles. Participants "will receive combat equipment that includes personal weapons, commando uniforms or mista'arvim clothes, all in accordance with their role in the unit," said the website. According to the HaMakom report, visitors wear keffiyeh, galabeya and beards to resemble Palestinians. "In addition, they also paint their teeth in order to make them look dirty or missing." According to the website, staff and visitors "will play terrorists, some of them innocent civilians, others mista'arvim agents, and all of them together will create a lively, unique and unforgettable environment that takes the participants to levels of excitement and extremes that they have not yet experienced." 'They also paint their teeth in order to make them look dirty or missing' - HaMakom news site The participants will have to "become an operational combat team in a mista'arvim unit. The team must begin a series of training that includes shooting training, warfare in urban areas, Krav Maga, and more." The activity at Fauda Base takes place in an imaginary village called "El Mahmoudiya", where visitors can find "a small market, a restaurant and several buildings where Fauda's special activities are carried out." After the operation in the fictional Palestinian village, visitors are invited to a "Bedouin village", which provides an "oriental, authentic and unforgettable experience," where they can rest, eat and enjoy the feeling of solidarity and brotherhood of fighters, according to the website. Although the Fauda Base website states that the minimum age to participate in activities is 15 (12 in the English version), a facility representative told HaMakom that the minimum age for shooting practice is six. In response to HaMakom questions, Fauda Base denied that the activity is open to children as young as six and said the minimum age is 16. "We work with youth movements, education departments and other organizations, but the activity is for high school ages and older," it said. According to the facility's operators, there is no shooting at targets or figures. "The activity at the Fauda Base is an experiential activity, not an educational one, full of love for the Arabic language and culture which is part of every good mista'arv person," it added.
Middle East Eye
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israeli forces ‘systematically using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza'
Israeli forces are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, according to a new report by the Associated Press (AP). Seven Palestinians spoke to AP about being used as human shields in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, in a report published on Saturday. Two Israeli military officers also confirmed the practice. 'They beat me and told me: 'You have no other option; do this or we'll kill you,'' Ayman Abu Hamadan, 36, told AP. Abu Hamdan said he was held by Israeli forces in northern Gaza for two and a half weeks last summer. He said he was forced for 17 days to inspect homes and holes in tunnels as Israeli troops stood behind him. An Israeli officer said there were times when close to every single platoon had used a Palestinian to clear locations before Israeli forces went in. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters One Israeli sergeant said that his unit attempted to push back on using Palestinian human shields in mid-2024, but were told that they had no choice in the matter. The sergeant told AP that his unit used two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, for a number of days. Israel's military told AP that it strictly prohibited the use of civilians as human shields. It said it was investigating a number of cases of alleged Palestinian involvement in missions, but would not elaborate further. 'Mosquito protocol' There have been multiple reports of Israeli use of Palestinians civilians as human shields since the war began in October 2023. A senior Israeli military officer told Haaretz last month that human shields were being used 'at least six times a day'. According to the article, Israeli soldiers routinely force Palestinian civilians to enter Gaza homes ahead of military operations to ensure that no explosives or combatants are there. Israeli soldier says every unit 'keeps a Palestinian as human shield' Read More » This procedure is known with the codename "mosquito protocol", which the officer first came across in December 2023, two months after Israel launched its devastating onslaught on Gaza. The Israeli army normally uses dogs for these missions, the officer wrote, and there had not been a shortage of dogs at the time the use of Palestinian human shields first became known to the officer. The use of civilians as human shields is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Israeli army last month launched six investigations into widely reported allegations that its soldiers use Palestinians as human shields. In February, Israeli website HaMakom revealed that Israeli troops strapped explosives around the neck of a Palestinian man in his 80s and forced him to be a human shield, before killing him and his wife. An Israeli soldier told HaMakom that after explosives were placed around the Palestinian man's neck, he was told "that if he does something wrong or not the way we want, the person behind him will pull the rope and his head will detach from the body". "That's how he walked around with us for eight hours, even though he's an 80-year-old man and even though he couldn't run away from us. And that's knowing that there's a soldier behind him who can pull the rope at any second – and he's done," the soldier added. According to HaMakom, after the elderly Palestinian was forced to enter homes and tunnels allegedly used by Hamas, the soldiers ordered him and his wife to leave the area for al-Mawasi, a small area that at the time was just one kilometre wide and was being used to house hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians. However, HaMakom said that no other battalions were informed that the couple would be making their way south and within 100 metres of being allowed to leave they were both shot dead. "They died like that, in the street," another soldier told HaMakom. In August, Haaretz reported that the Israeli army had repeatedly used innocent Palestinians to enter homes and tunnels in its war on Gaza. Nearly a year earlier, in December 2023, Middle East Eye received numerous testimonies from Palestinians that Israeli forces strapped explosives on civilians before forcing them into areas believed to be used by Hamas. Later that month, medical staff at the Shifa Hospital told MEE that Israeli soldiers used them as human shields when inspecting the hospital's grounds. "When they stormed the ground stores, they used us [doctors] as human shields to enter and search them. They found the technical maintenance employees there and interrogated them, before they detained them," a doctor told MEE.
Middle East Eye
21-02-2025
- Middle East Eye
Investigation reveals details of killing of elderly Palestinian couple used as human shields
An investigation by Euro-Med Monitor has revealed further details of the killing of an elderly Palestinian couple who were forced to wear explosives and act as human shields by Israeli forces during a military incursion on Gaza City's Zeytoun neighbourhood in May 2023. Israeli news site HaMakom previously reported that Israeli forces strapped explosives around the neck of an elderly Palestinian man and used him as a human shield before killing him and his wife. According to the report, the man, who used a walking stick, was forced to scout buildings in the neighbourhood to ensure they were safe for around eight hours. An Israeli soldier told HaMakom that after the explosives were placed around the Palestinian man's neck, he was told "that if he does something wrong or not the way we want, the person behind him will pull the rope and his head will detach from the body". While the original report did not name the victims, their ages and the date, location, and circumstances of their killing align with the Euro-Med Monitor investigation. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Euro-Med Monitor identified the couple as Mohammed Fahmi Abu Hussein, 70, and Mazyona Hassan Fares Abu Hussein, 65. While Hamakom quoted Israeli soldiers saying that the couple were shot dead by another battalion as they were instructed to flee towards the Mawasi 'safe zone,' the findings of the Euro-Med Monitor investigation suggest that they were killed by the detonation of the explosives. 'The Israeli army's admission... that they had used my father as a human shield and then brutally murdered him alongside my mother shocked us' - Ahmed Abu Hussein According to the investigation, Mayzona's body 'was reduced to nothing,' while the right side of Mohammed's body was completely disfigured, with one leg missing. The couple's son, Ahmed, told Euro-Med Monitor that he found pieces of his father's body at Al-Ahil Hospital, and 'fragments' of his mother's body on Salah al-Din Road, east of Gaza, 'where it seems that she was killed by setting off explosives'. Hussein said that his father was only identifiable by a tattoo on his hand, while his mother's body 'was utterly destroyed' and he could only recognise her by the gold teeth remaining on her jaw. He added that his parents were carrying a bag full of cash and gold that went missing following their killing. 'The Israeli army's admission and subsequent announcement that they had used my father as a human shield and then brutally murdered him alongside my mother shocked us," Hussein said. "After days of losing contact, we hoped they were still alive, but we later learnt that they had been brutally murdered in a manner we could not have predicted."
Middle East Eye
17-02-2025
- Middle East Eye
Israeli forces used 80-year-old Palestinian as human shield before killing him
Israeli forces strapped explosives around the neck of an elderly Palestinian man in Gaza and forced him to act as a human shield before killing him and his wife, an investigation by the Israeli news website HaMakom has revealed. The Palestinian man, who has not been named but is believed to have been well above the age of 80, was told that if he did not carry out the searches Israeli forces would detonate the explosives and "blow off his head." According to HaMakom, the incident took place in May last year when Israeli soldiers from several different brigades amassed near the house of the Palestinian couple, both aged in their 80s, in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood. At the time, Israeli forces had launched their third ground assault on the area after engaging in intense fighting with Hamas and other Palestinian movements. HaMakom said that the Nahal Brigade, the Carmeli Brigade and the Multidimensional Unit, decided to use the elderly Palestinian man, who used a walking stick to get around, as the human shield.
