| Posted By Emile Tayyip
Palestinians have long complained
about the Israeli army’s use of
human shields, but evidence was
difficult to obtain.
This week, a video clip filmed by a
foreign peace activist and aired on
Israel’s Yedioth Ahronot
newspaper Web site, prompted the
Israeli army to suspend a commander
whose troops forced two Palestinian
youths in the occupied West Bank of
Nablus last Wednesday to stand in
front of their vehicle to protect it
from stones thrown by other civilians
– the latest evidence that the
Israeli army still uses Palestinian
human shields in violation of
international law and a 2005 ruling by
the Israeli Supreme Court against the
inhumane practice.
The Israeli army said in a
statement Friday that the soldiers who
appeared in the video "apparently
made prohibited use of civilians"
and that the unit's commander would be
suspended "from all operational
activity, in addition to the ongoing
investigation into the matter."
Palestinian Information Minister
Mustafa Barghouti said the suspension
failed to address the fundamental
problem. "They are treating it as
an isolated incident," he said.
"The problem is systematic and
... they (Israeli occupation forces)
continue the practice despite the
court order.”
The use of human shields highlights
one of the several human rights
violations committed by Israel as it
enters its fifth decade of military
occupation in the West Bank.
International law, including the
Geneva Conventions and Hague
regulations, bans placing civilians in
harm's way during military operations.
The 2005 Supreme Court ruling was
prompted by an outcry over the
military’s use of Palestinian human
shields in a 2002 offensive in the
West Bank. The army defended the
illegal practice at the time, claiming
that it never allowed its troops
to use civilians for cover during
battles.
But in August 2002, a 19-year-old
Palestinian student was killed in a
gun battle that broke out after he was
forced to knock on the door of a
building where a wanted fighter was
hiding.
Avichay Sharon, 25, a former
Israeli commando who served from 2000
to 2003, asserts that the use of
“human shields” remains common.
“When you have to decide between
risking your soldiers' lives or just a
Palestinian bystander, the solution
... suddenly becomes much more logical
than it sounds,'' said Sharon belongs
to “Breaking the Silence,'' a group
of former soldiers who say army
tactics in the West Bank are hurting
Israel's moral character.
“Everyone has done it, seen it,
witnessed it," Sharon said.
Last February, Associated Press
Television News (APTN) captured
footage of a Palestinian civilian who
was forced to act as a human shield
and lead heavily armed Israelis on a
manhunt for wanted fighters in the
West Bank.
“I was afraid I would die,''
Sameh Amira said in a recent
interview. “They made me go in front
of them… and they fired behind my
back,'' said the 24-old-year old, who
says that he has no links to any
resistance group.
The APTN video prompted
the army to launch a rare criminal
investigation into whether its
soldiers have broken the law. It also
encouraged other Palestinian
civilians, including an 11-year-old
girl, to come forward with similar
accounts of being compelled to walk
ahead of soldiers looking for
fighters.
Jihan Dadoush, a Nablus resident,
said Israeli occupation forces raided
her home, questioned her father, and
older sister then turned to her. “I
was very afraid because the soldiers
were screaming at me, so I told them
about a house where young men
sometimes go,'' the 11-year-old girl
said.
Minutes later, the soldiers
returned and ordered Jihan to come
with them, threatening to arrest her
and ignoring her father's pleas to
leave her alone.
“I was shouting, 'Where are you
taking my daughter? Bring her back!
Bring her back!''' her father, Nimr
Dadoush, said in an interview,
explaining that the girl has a heart
condition. “They didn't answer me.''
Jihan said the troops ordered her
to show them the hideout. “They made
me walk in front of them. There were
many soldiers behind me with their
weapons and they frightened me,'' she
said.
Jessica Montell, executive director
of the Israeli human rights group
B'Tselem, said the Israeli soldiers
knowingly expose Palestinian human
shields to danger, adding that
complaints by Palestinian civilians
rarely lead to punishments. For
instance, less than 8% of military
probes into physical abuse by Israeli
occupation forces have led to
convictions in the past six years, she
said, citing army figures.
However, Montell, whose group is
assisting Amira and Dadoush, said the
video is “crucial'' evidence that is
rarely available.
The military investigation could
lead to anything from disciplinary
measures to criminal indictments,
Montell said, adding that she
hopes the probe will determine who's
responsible for the use of human
shields.
“It's hard to imagine that the
individual soldiers took the
initiative here. At least at some
level, some commander is instructing
and training soldiers," she said.
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