JERUSALEM, Israel -- Hamas, the Palestinian faction ruling the Gaza Strip, celebrated the graduation of 17,000 Arab teenagers from military youth camps, it calls "Vanguards of Liberation."
The Izz al-Din al-Kassam Brigades, the group's "military wing," organized the program.
In addition to military fitness training, the youth, aged 15-21, learned how to use different kinds of rifles, including Kalashnikovs, how to snipe and how to launch RPGs and mortar shells.
At graduation ceremonies in Khan Younis and Gaza City, an Izz al-Din spokesman said the youth will form the core of a future liberation army.
"Today, these youths are soldiers in the Gaza Strip," Jerusalem Post Palestinian Affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh quoted the spokesman. "Tomorrow they will liberate the Aksa Mosque [Muslim term for the Temple Mount] in Jerusalem.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar spoke at the Khan Younis ceremony, the Post reported.
"The Zionist enemy needs to know that we are coming soon to liberate our Aksa Mosque and prisoners," al-Zahar said, adding that "Palestinian resistance was founded to defend Palestinians and the dignity of all Arabs and Muslims."
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