Palestinian 'inciting dolls' seized at Israel airport

Authorities at Haifa International Airport in northern Israel have seized a shipment of nationalist Palestinian dolls under the terms of "inciting terror".

The shipment of around 4,000 dolls, on their way to Palestine from the UAE, were blocked and seized by the "profiling system" at Haifa airport.

Various Israeli media outlets have described the toys as "anti-Israeli" and believe they would "encourage stone throwing".

The dolls were reportedly dressed in traditional Palestinian protest clothing which read "Jerusalem is ours" and "Jerusalem here we come".

	The shipment contained around 4,000 dolls

The dolls also apparently had rocks placed in their hands.

"These dolls were making their way to the Palestinian Authority with one clear purpose," Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said on Tuesday.

"And that was to poison the minds of innocent children," Hotovely claimed.

"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," she said.

The customs department also said that “weapon making” equipment – namely light bulbs – were also seized in the shipment.

"The customs department continues its daily work in preventing smuggling into Israel with an emphasis on smuggling weapons and preventing the infiltration of inciting material - especially in this climate," Haifa airport customs director, Coby Yahav, stated. 

According to a statement by Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), released on Monday, nearly two dozen Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza since 1 October.