Officials say dolls seized at Haifa port were shipped from UAE supplier and intended to incite Palestinian children

Israeli customs officers have seized a consignment of 4,000 dolls dressed as Palestinian stone-throwers, which officials said were intended to incite Palestinian children.



The shipment was found last week hidden among other goods coming into the port at Haifa, allegedly shipped from a supplier in the United Arab Emirates.

Each of the identical stuffed toys wore red, green, black and white scarves, and their heads were covered by keffiyehs inscribed with the words “Jerusalem is ours” and “Jerusalem, here we come”. In the doll’s raised hand was a grey object clearly meant to resemble a stone.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A close-up of one of the dolls. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, said: “These dolls were making their way to the Palestinian Authority with one clear purpose, and that was to poison the minds of innocent children. The Palestinians are continuing to incite their youth using any means necessary to educate them about violence and hatred. Here, it’s in the form of a doll.”

Despite her claim, it was not entirely clear who the recipient was intended to be. The rightwing Israeli freesheet Israel Hayom reported this week that following the seizure Hotovely instructed the foreign ministry to send the dolls to “our delegations in order to show the countries of the world that are channeling funds into the PA that until a dramatic change takes place in the Palestinian education system … we won’t be able to conduct any dialogue with our neighbours.”

During a recent upsurge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians, both sides have accused each other of inciting violence. Since mid-September, Palestinians have killed 21 Israelis in stabbings, shootings and deliberate car crashes, while Israelis have killed 117 Palestinians, 76 of them said by Israel to be assailants.

In the most recent serious incident, on Monday a Palestinian driver rammed a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem, injuring a dozen people including an 18-month-old child.

On Tuesday, the UN voiced concern over the “unacceptable” Palestinian attacks on Israelis and criticised Israeli authorities’ reported “excessive use of force” in response to the attacks.

“We continue to be gravely concerned at the unrelenting violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Israel,” said Cecile Pouilly, spokeswoman for the UN human rights office. “We call on both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to act decisively to de-escalate the situation.”