Via INN:

Hamas is defending its practiceof forcing teenage boys in Gaza to undergo paramilitary training. A story run by Lebanon’s Al-Jadid television, and translated to English by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), quoted principals and Hamas officials defending the training as “chivalry” class and “sports training.”

Principal Khaled Hashish admitted that the class, in which high school students march with fake guns and practice martial arts and military formations, “resembles the military training of soldiers.”

However, he argued, the training is part of “sports training” and its goal is to teach youth to “develop physical strength, chivalry, seriousness, and to be active.”

The “sports training” is taught by a man in military fatigues, who can be seen shouting orders at the young students as they stand in formation. The training is mandatory for high school boys, and takes place every day.

The father of one of the students praised the class as well. “When you raise a young boy on sound values, they stay with him as he grows up. This kind of knowledge is never forgotten,” he said.

Hamas spokesmen argued that the program allowed youth to “release negative energy.” The program was not a Hamas initiative, they claimed, but rather, was the brainchild of deceased Fatah head and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.