The Israeli army suspended a mission commander on Friday as evidence mounted of the military's illegal use of Palestinian civilians to shield troops in West Bank raids.
Troops under the soldier's command ordered two Palestinian youths to stand in front of their jeep to protect it from local stone-throwers -- highlighting one of the many human rights issues the army is dealing with as it enters its fifth decade of military occupation in the West Bank.
The incident in Nablus on Wednesday, captured on video, was the latest piece of evidence suggesting the army continues to use human shields in violation of international law and a 2005 Israeli Supreme Court ruling banning the practice. The issue came under renewed scrutiny after TV footage in late February showed a Palestinian man forced to lead heavily armed soldiers in house-to-house searches for militants.
The latest case came to light when a 60-second clip, filmed by a foreign peace activist, was posted late on Thursday on the Yediot Ahronot newspaper Web site. Footage showed two Palestinian youths leaning against the front of a military jeep with their arms crossed, while a soldier sat inside the passenger's seat.
The activist is heard shouting: "You can't use them as human shields, it is against the law."
"We are not using them as a human shield," the soldier replied.
"They are standing in front of your jeep. How is that not a human shield? You are using them to protect you from stones," the activist retorted.
"We asked them to speak to their friends and ask them to stop throwing stones at us," the soldier said.
Shortly after the video was posted, the military announced the mission commander had been relieved of operational duty.
"Following the incident in which IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] soldiers apparently made prohibited use of civilians, Central Command chief Major General Yair Naveh ordered the suspension of the commander of the mission from all operational activity, in addition to the ongoing investigation into the matter," the military said in a statement.
A military police investigation also has been ordered.
Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti denounced the suspension as window-dressing.
"They are treating it as an isolated incident," he said. "The problem is systematic and ... they [the troops] continued the practice despite the [Supreme] Court order," he said.
For years, Palestinians had accused the army of using human shields, but proof was elusive. But evidence has been accumulating since the footage was aired in February. Others -- including an 11-year-old girl -- have been emboldened to come forward with similar accounts of being compelled to walk ahead of soldiers looking for militants.
These cases have prompted a rare criminal investigation into whether troops broke the law as critics contend.
The multiple incidents underscore the dilemma the army faces after 40 years of occupation in the West Bank. While it says its operations are needed to protect Israel against Palestinian militants, it has used increasingly tough measures during the last six years of fighting.
The landmark Israeli Supreme Court ruling banning the use of human shields was prompted by an outcry over the army's widespread practice, in a 2002 West Bank offensive, of forcing Palestinian civilians to approach fugitives' hideouts.
The army, which launched the offensive following a rash of suicide bombings, defended the practice at the time, saying it kept civilians out of harm's way and encouraged militants to surrender peacefully. And it says it never allowed troops to use civilians for cover during battles.
But in August 2002, a 19-year-old Palestinian student was killed in a gunfight that erupted after he was forced to knock on the door of a building where a fugitive was hiding.
In addition to the Israeli proscription, international law, including the Geneva Conventions and Hague regulations, prohibits placing civilians in harm's way during military operations.
Human rights groups say the use of civilians in military operations has dropped sharply since the Supreme Court banned it outright, but has not disappeared.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese