U.S. lawmakers have expressed outrage and called for funding to United Nations-run schools to be cut off after the release of a new documentary showing children as young as 13 declaring they want to kill Jews and join ISIS.
Fox News reports that the documentary, "The UNRWA Road to Terror: Palestinian Classroom Incitement," shows children as young as seven in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) voicing their support for jihadist activity.
The documentary was produced by David Bedein, who, along with his organization, the Center for Near East Research, have been researching UNRWA for nearly 30 years.
"The U.S. government sponsored the peace process, yet the same U.S. government undermines any hope of peace" by funding problematic UN schools, he said.
One clip shows a 13-year-old Palestinian student chanting "With Allah's help I will fight for ISIS, the Islamic State."
"We have to make war to prove we are stronger than the Jews," said a 7-year-old girl from the classroom of a UN school in Jerusalem in another clip.
"Right now I am prepared to be a suicide bomber," says a 13-year-old shown in the film at another UN school.
Another student, who is identified in the film as a 10-year-old who goes to a UN school in Bethlehem, is shown saying, "We need to take steps to kill them, and they will retreat and we will advance."
Members of Congress told the outlet that lawmakers are currently looking to introduce bills cutting off funding from such schools as a result of the documentary. According to State Department figures, the U.S. provided $390 million to help fund UNRWA in 2015.
"It is a crime against humanity, an outrage, and does not in any way prepare the Palestinian population or future generations of Palestinians for peace with Israelis," Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., told the outlet. "It is unacceptable that the international community, including the United States, is funding UNRWA without demanding change."
Palestinian human rights activist and political analyst Bassam Eid told FoxNews.com that the film was chillingly accurate.
"The film accurately portrays UNRWA schools... advocacy of violence remains rampant dictated by teachers who run the U.S.-funded UNRWA schools," he said.
In the past, ISIS has released a number of disturbing photos showing its fighters training young children and teaching them extremist theology. Earlier this year, the group created an children's app that teaches Arabic using jihadist songs and pictures of tanks, guns and rockets.
The militant group regularly refers to its fighters as "lions" and to the children in its territories as "cubs of the caliphate." Oftentimes, children are taught to handle and fire live ammunition, how to drive, and even how to behead.
Last year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated that IS recruited at least 400 minors from January through March, though the number of total child soldiers is much higher.
ISIS is "trying to establish its deep roots for itself ... by creating many classrooms worth of heavily indoctrinated, heavily committed children who are being brought up only understanding the world through Islamic State's binary view of jihad, which is dangerous," Charlie Winter, an expert on ISIS propaganda and senior researcher for Georgia State University, told Business Insider.
"It is instilling very young children with ... Islamism, jihadism, and it's something that's going to stick around for a long, long time," Winter said. "It's an elephant in the room that isn't being given enough scrutiny."
