A superbly-made futuristic animated cartoon broadcast by the Islamist Hamas movement on Sunday is creating waves in Israel. It is thought to be the first of its kind from the military wing of Hamas that does not depend on the traditional images of brave Hamas warriors fighting against Israel.
The film wants to send the message that unless there is a real change in thinking on the part of the Israeli government, captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will be returned to his family in a coffin rather than standing on his own feet.
The Hebrew animation is broadcast on various popular video websites, predominantly with English subtitles. On the website of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas armed wing, the item also appears in Arabic, giving rise to guess that the intended target audiences are both Israelis and Palestinians.
If Hamas was looking for a reaction in Israel with the video, it certainly has achieved that on Sunday and Monday as news outlets gave substantial time and space to the animation.
Israeli politicians and pundits alike felt the need to talk about the movie. "It is best if Hamas leaders would focus less on videos and presentations and more concerned about the interests of their prisoners and the public in Gaza," Noam Shalit, father of Gilad Shalit, told the Israeli news website Ynet.
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