Latest news with #HumanShields:AHistoryofPeopleintheLineofFire
Days of Palestine
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Israel Accused of Using Human Shields in Gaza, West Bank. How Common is the Practice?
DayofPal– A recent Associated Press investigation has shed light on the Israeli military's 'systematic' use of Palestinians as human shields. The ractice is illegal under international law but reportedly widespread during the Israeli ongoing 20-month war in Gaza and simultaneous military operations in the occupied West Bank. The AP report includes testimonies from seven Palestinians who said they were used as human shields, with two Israeli military officers confirming that the practice is widespread. The Israeli military responded by stating that the use of civilians as shields is strictly forbidden and that several incidents are currently under investigation. What Human Shields? How Israel Used Them? International humanitarian law (IHL) defines human shields as civilians used, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to shield military targets from attack, a practice that is unequivocally prohibited. Despite the ban, Israeli soldiers have allegedly used human shields regularly during Gaza genocide. In early 2024, Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a soldier's account saying this was done 'six times a day' in his unit, and that it had become 'normalized' within the ranks. A prior Haaretz report evealed that the Palestinians used in this way were mostly young men, sometimes held for up to a week, and were sent into tunnels or buildings, with units expressing pride in locating such detainees. Nicola Perugini, co-author of Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire, said, 'It's become part of [Israel's] military culture', citing a vast collection of documentation not only from human rights groups but also from Israeli soldiers themselves who shared content of these acts on social media with apparent impunity. He added, 'Israeli army investigations have proven throughout the decades to be non-investigations,' pointing out that the practice, banned under Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, has been documented since the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. 'What we have now in the live-streamed genocide is the most documented archive of human shielding in the history of the different wars between Israel and the Palestinians,' he added. 'What we have discovered is precisely that it is a systematic practice.' How Israel Responded? The Israeli military typically either avoids commenting on allegations, demands more specifics, or opens investigations only when the evidence becomes incontrovertible. In 2023, when Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit presented thousands of images, videos, and testimonies pointing to war crimes, including the use of human shields, Israel did not respond. Among the documented incidents was that of Jamal Abu Al-Ola, a detainee shown in video footage dressed in a hazmat suit, his hands bound and head covered, as he told displaced persons at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to evacuate. His mother, who followed him out, watched him being shot by a sniper. Rodney Dixon, an expert in international law, described the case as a clear example of someone being used as a 'military asset', saying it matched the 'definition of using persons as a human shield.' Earlier in 2024, the Israeli military resisted calls to investigate the case of an 80-year-old man allegedly forced to act as a shield in Gaza City, claiming more information was needed. However, a joint investigation by The Hottest Place in Hell and +972 Magazine reported that this man had an explosive cord placed around his neck by an officer, who threatened to detonate it if he made a wrong move. After being forced from his home in Zeitoun, the man and his wife were later killed by another Israeli unit. Public outrage also followed a 2023 video that showed a wounded Palestinian man, Mujahed Azmi, tied to the hood of an army jeep during a raid in Jenin, West Bank. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese called the footage 'human shielding in action.' The military stated that its forces had exchanged fire and apprehended a suspect, and that the actions in the video did not reflect its 'values', promising an investigation. Still, Perugini notes that such promises are not reassuring, explaining that the ICC's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stem from doubt in Israel's willingness or ability to investigate itself. Who Gives the Orders? Whether the Israeli military will actively work to end the practice remains uncertain. Nevertheless, demand for accountability is increasing. Human rights organizations argue that the use of human shields in the occupied Palestinian territories dates back decades. Breaking the Silence, an organization of former Israeli soldiers, cited a 2002 case where a major admitted using a tactic called the 'neighbor procedure.' According to his testimony, 'You order a Palestinian to accompany you and to open the door of the house you want to enter… if the door blows up, a Palestinian will be blown up, and soldiers won't be blown up.' Although the Israeli Supreme Court outlawed the tactic in 2005, and two soldiers were convicted in 2010 for using a 9-year-old as a shield, the practice has reportedly been normalized again, particularly since the war in Gaza began. Haaretz cited sources who said that former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was among the senior figures aware of human shielding being used in Gaza. The AP report also quoted an anonymous officer who said the practice was already widespread by 2004, with infantry units regularly using Palestinians to clear buildings. The phrase 'to bring a mosquito' — referring to human shields — was commonly used over radio communication. Another anonymous Israeli sergeant told the AP that when his unit tried to refuse orders to use human shields in Gaza in 2024, they were told they had no choice, and a high-ranking officer allegedly told them to ignore international humanitarian law. In response, the Israeli army told The Jerusalem Post that it would investigate 'if further details are provided.' It noted that its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division had already launched probes into several incidents, but 'no further details can be provided at this time.' In March, Haaretz reported that six cases were under investigation following a Red Cross report highlighting the abuses. With more than 54,000 Palestinians killed so far and mounting evidence that human shielding is a systematic part of Israeli military operations, pressure is growing for accountability. As Perugini concluded, 'When you are in a genocide, then human shielding becomes a tool for something else. It becomes part of a different kind of crime, of the crime of crimes.' Shortlink for this post:
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How common is Israel's use of human shields in Gaza and the West Bank?
A recent report by The Associated Press that exposed the Israeli military's 'systematic' use of Palestinians as human shields has shone a light on an illegal practice that has become commonplace over the 19-month war in Gaza and parallel offensives in the West Bank. The report, published on Saturday, featured the testimonies of seven Palestinians who had been used as human shields in Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank, with two Israeli military officers confirming the ubiquity of the practice, which is considered a violation of international law. Responding to the allegations, Israel's military told the news agency that using civilians as shields in its operations was strictly prohibited and that several cases were under investigation. So what are human shields? How widely have they been used by the Israeli military? And is Israel likely to launch a crackdown any time soon? Under international humanitarian law (IHL), the term 'human shields' refers to the use of civilians or other protected persons, whether voluntary or involuntary, in order to shield military targets from attacks. The use of human shields in warfare is prohibited under IHL, but Israeli soldiers have allegedly employed it widely during the Gaza genocide. Earlier this year, Israeli newspaper Haaretz published the first-hand testimony of an Israeli soldier who said that the practice had been used 'six times a day' in his unit and that it had effectively been 'normalised' in military ranks. Back in August, the newspaper had revealed that Palestinians used as human shields in Gaza tended to be in their 20s and were used for periods of up to a week by units, which took pride in 'locating' detainees to send into tunnel shafts and buildings. 'It's become part of [Israel's] military culture,' said Nicola Perugini, co-author of Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire, noting the 'huge archive' of evidence provided, not only by human rights groups, but also by soldiers, who were until recently posting evidence of Palestinians being used as 'fodder' on social media with an apparent sense of total impunity. 'Israeli army investigations have proven throughout the decades to be non-investigations,' Perugini said, noting that documentation of the practice, forbidden by Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions, started during the second Intifada of the early 2000s. 'What we have now in the live-streamed genocide is the most documented archive of human shielding in the history of the different wars between Israel and the Palestinians,' he said. 'What we have discovered is precisely that it is a systematic practice.' Throughout the conflict, the Israeli military's response to allegations has been to withhold comment, to point to a lack of details, or, when faced with undeniable proof, to announce a probe. Last year, Israel declined to respond to a range of allegations put to it by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit, which examined thousands of photos and videos – the bulk of them posted online by Israeli soldiers – and testimonies pointing to a number of potential war crimes, including the use of human shields. Among the atrocities revealed by the team in the resulting documentary was the case of Jamal Abu al-Ola, a detainee forced to act as a messenger by the Israelis. Footage showed the young man dressed in a white hazmat suit, with hands bound and head wrapped in a yellow cloth, telling displaced people at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to evacuate. His mother followed him out, and witnessed him being shot dead by a sniper. Commenting on the case for the documentary, Rodney Dixon, an international law expert, said that al-Ola had been used as a 'military asset', which was 'in many ways the definition of using persons as a human shield'. This year, the military pushed back on calls to investigate a report on an 80-year-old man forced to act as a human shield in Gaza City, saying that 'additional details' were needed. The joint report from Israeli outlet The Hottest Place in Hell and +972 Magazine revealed a horrific new dimension of the so-called 'mosquito procedure', with anonymous Israeli soldiers recounting that a senior officer had placed an explosive cord around the man's neck, threatening to blow his head off if he made any false moves. Ordered afterwards to flee his home in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood, the man was shot dead with his wife by another the military will acknowledge violations when confronted with undeniable evidence provoking widespread outrage, such as last year's video of wounded Palestinian man Mujahed Azmi, strapped to the hood of an army jeep during a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin. That particular case was described as 'human shielding in action' by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations' special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory. In a statement, Israel's military said its forces were fired at and exchanged fire, wounding a suspect and apprehending him. It added that the 'conduct of the forces in the video' did not 'conform to the values' of the military and that the incident would be investigated. However, as Perugini observes, the very reason why the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza is because legal experts doubt Israel's ability to investigate itself. Despite vast evidence, the question of whether the military will be launching a crackdown aimed at banishing the apparently systematic practice is moot. Even so, pressure for accountability is growing. Rights groups say the practice of using human shields has been going on in the occupied Palestinian territories for decades. Breaking the Silence, a whistle-blower group gathering testimonies of former Israeli soldiers, cites evidence of what one high-ranking officer posted to Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank back in 2002 called 'neighbour procedure'. 'You order a Palestinian to accompany you and to open the door of the house you want to enter, to knock on the door and ask to enter, with a very simple objective: if the door blows up, a Palestinian will be blown up, and soldiers won't be blown up,' said the officer, ranked as a major. In 2005, an Israeli Supreme Court ruling explicitly barred the practice. Five years later, two soldiers were convicted of using a nine-year-old boy as a human shield to check suspected booby traps in the Gaza City suburb of Tal al-Hawa. It was reportedly the first such conviction in Israel. But the military's use of human shields appears to have been normalised since then, particularly over the past 19 months of war in Gaza. Indeed, there are indications that orders may be coming from the very top. Haaretz's investigation from last August cited sources as saying that former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was among the senior officers aware of the use of Palestinians in Gaza as human shields. And this week's report by the AP cited an anonymous Israeli officer as saying that the practice had become ubiquitous by mid-2004 in Gaza, with every infantry unit using a Palestinian to clear houses by the time he finished his service, and with orders 'to bring a mosquito' often being issued via radio. The report also cited an anonymous Israeli sergeant as saying that his unit had tried to refuse to use human shields in Gaza in 2024, but was told they had no choice, a high-ranking officer telling them they shouldn't worry about international humanitarian law. Responding to claims in the AP report, the Israeli military told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that it would investigate the claims 'if further details are provided'. 'In several cases, investigations by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division were opened following suspicions that the military was involving Palestinians in military missions. These investigations are ongoing, and naturally, no further details can be provided at this time,' it said. In March, Haaretz reported that Israel's military police were investigating six cases in which Israeli soldiers were alleged to have used Palestinians as human shields after the publication of a Red Cross report earlier in the year that highlighted the abuses. In the face of growing evidence that Palestinians are systematically being used as fodder for the Israeli military machine, in a war that has already killed more than 54,000 people, the military may find it increasingly difficult to kick the biggest can of all down the road. Said Perugini: 'When you are in a genocide, then human shielding becomes a tool for something else. It becomes part of a different kind of crime, of the crime of crimes.'
