The Human Shields Con
Evidence is that it's Israel that's using human shields, not Palestinians. As many say about Israel: Every accusation is an admission.
The piece — “Based on extensive investigations in previous conflicts, reporters should treat Israeli claims of Palestinians using human shields with extreme skepticism” below was written by Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon who volunteered at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. See pieces and interviews he has given. Along similar lines, Craig Mokhiber wrote the piece “Every accusation a confession: Israel and the double lie of ‘human shields’” for MondoWeiss: “Multiple human rights reports show that Palestinian armed groups do not use human shields, but Israel does. Israel’s false claims about Palestinian human shields are just attempts to justify its own targeting of civilians.”
Using human shields is a long-time tactic of imperial Israel. I noted the circumstances of my father’s ethnic cleansing in 1948: “Fourteen civilians from the village were put on a truck and led the convoy going north — to Lebanon. They were told that they were at the front in case of land mines.”
I should note that I just posted “Local Actions: Retired Marine Biologist & Artist Arrested Flyering Elbit Systems in Charleston” at Papers Project.
Sidhwa just gave a talk last night which included profiles of people he has treated in Gaza, some of whom are now completely traumatized:
Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken has claimed that Hamas has "cynically and monstrously, deliberately has people – men, women, and children -- as human shields, puts its command posts, puts its leadership, puts its fighters, puts its weapons, puts its munitions underneath hospitals or even inside them -- schools, mosques."
And Trump’s nominee for the same position Marco Rubio has the same position: “If civilians are in those strongholds, it's because Hamas has placed themselves there -- unfortunately, sadly, tragically, but nonetheless, what choice does Israel have?” Very special thanks to MM on this.
Based on extensive investigations in previous conflicts, reporters should treat Israeli claims of Palestinians using human shields with extreme skepticism
by Feroze Sidhwa
Since at least the Second Intifada Israel and its spokespeople have claimed that virtually all civilian deaths in Israeli military operations are caused by armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah using civilians as human shields. Since at least 2002, extensive investigations by groups ranging from the United States Army War College to Human Rights Watch to the Israeli human rights group B’tselem have found no evidence for this claim. Furthermore, Israel itself has a long and thoroughly documented history of using Palestinian civilians, including children, as human shields. The most extensive of these studies are summarized and linked below. An extensive Haaretz investigation of the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in the current invasion of Gaza is included at the end.
The “Human Shields” section of “The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law” (Médecins Sans Frontières) defines human shielding as “intentionally moving civilians near military targets…or intentionally moving military targets near civilians.” Israel has alleged for decades that Palestinian armed groups and Hezbollah do this systematically, but virtually all independent investigations have concluded otherwise.
Operation Defensive Shield, 2002
● B’tselem, Human Shield: Use of Palestinian Civilians as Human Shields in Violation of High Court of Justice Order: “For a long time, the IDF has been using Palestinians as human shields and ordering them to carry out military tasks that pose a threat to their lives. In implementing this policy, Palestinian civilians have been forced to carry out tasks such as removing suspicious objects from roads, ordering people to leave their homes to be arrested by the IDF, and standing in front of soldiers who were firing from behind them. These tasks were forced upon civilians who were chosen at random and could not refuse the orders given to them by armed soldiers. Israel agreed to change its policy on the use of human shields only after a petition was filed in the High Court of Justice. The change in policy was only partial. It took the death of a Palestinian civilian and an additional petition to the High Court for the state to prohibit all use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, including the ‘neighbor procedure.’ As this report shows, the IDF has violated the Court’s injunction… The IDF’s indifferent attitude toward the violation of the injunction issued by the High Court raises doubts as to the degree to which the army considers itself subject to law. Proof of this attitude lies, in part, in the IDF’s practice of doing everything in its power to conceal the cases in which the High Court injunction was violated. B'Tselem has brought four of the cases described in this report to the IDF’s attention, but has not received any response. As far as B’Tselem knows, no measures have been taken against those involved in these incidents.”
● Amnesty International: Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus: “The IDF systematically compelled Palestinians to take part in military operations. Several Palestinians interviewed by Amnesty International in relation to other subjects said that they had been compelled to take part in military operations and as ‘human shields’. These practices violate international humanitarian law. Although the IDF announced through the State Attorney on 24 May 2002 that it would not use civilians in military operations, Amnesty International has continued to receive reports of cases in which Palestinians were used by members of the IDF during military operations, including as ‘human shields’. The large number of cases of Palestinians used as ‘human shields’ in IDF military operations reveal a clear pattern. Typically the IDF would compel an adult male in their military operation to search property in each area of the refugee camp. A Palestinian would be held by the IDF for a certain period, sometimes for days. These Palestinians were placed at serious risk, in some cases resulting in injury, as the following case illustrates…. In both Jenin and Nablus, as many testimonies show, there was a pattern of forcing Palestinians to participate in military operations or to act as ‘human shields’. Women as well as men were used in this way…. In Nablus, as in Jenin, the IDF frequently compelled Palestinians to participate in military operations, including as ‘human shields’. The IDF compelled Palestinians to scout areas to ensure safe passage of soldiers, to enter the homes of other Palestinians during military operations and as a first person through ‘mouse-holes’ (the holes drilled through house walls by the IDF to enable them to move from house to house).… In August a Palestinian used as a ‘human shield’ by the IDF was killed in crossfire and the High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction against this procedure; nevertheless, it still continues.”
●Human Rights Watch, Jenin: IDF Military Operations: “IDF soldiers in Jenin engaged in the practice of human shielding, forcing Palestinian civilians to serve as ‘shields’ to protect them from Palestinian militants. The practice of human shielding is specifically outlawed by international humanitarian law. The in [sic] inappropriate use of civilians for other military purposes was also widespread during the IDF operation in Jenin. In almost every case where IDF soldiers entered civilian homes in the camp, the residents told Human Rights Watch that the IDF soldiers were accompanied by Palestinian civilians.”
Israel-Hezbollah War, 2006
● Stephen D. Biddle, Jeffrey A Friedman. “The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy”. US Army War College, September 1, 2008: “Hezbollah is often described as having used civilians as shields in 2006, and, in fact, they made extensive use of civilian homes as direct fire combat positions and to conceal launchers for rocket fire into Israel. Yet the villages Hezbollah used to anchor its defensive system in southern Lebanon were largely evacuated by the time Israeli ground forces crossed the border on July 18. As a result, the key battlefields in the land campaign south of the Litani River were mostly devoid of civilians, and IDF participants consistently report little or no meaningful intermingling of Hezbollah fighters and noncombatants. Nor is there any systematic reporting of Hezbollah using civilians in the combat zone as shields. The fighting in southern Lebanon was chiefly urban, in the built-up areas of the small to medium-size villages and towns typical of the region. But it was not significantly intermingled with a civilian population that had fled by the time the ground fighting began. Hezbollah made very effective use of local cover and concealment, but this was obtained almost entirely from the terrain—both natural and man-made…. In 2006, the great majority of Hezbollah’s fighters wore uniforms. In fact, their equipment and clothing were remarkably similar to many state militaries’— desert or green fatigues, helmets, web vests, body armor, dog tags, and rank insignia. On occasion, IDF units hesitated to fire on Hezbollah parties in the open because their kit, from a distance, looked so much like IDF infantry’s: at Addaisseh, seven Hezbollah fighters were mistaken for Israelis until an IDF soldier noticed that one of them was wearing track shoes. Again, there were exceptions: at Marun ar Ras, most fighters were seen in uniform, but some armed combatants were also observed in civilian clothes; 2 of 20 bodies of dead Hezbollah fighters at At Tayyibah were found in civilian clothing; two fighters in civilian clothes were observed at Frun, and a few more at Al Qantarah; at At Tiri, combatants were observed in uniform pants, but not tops. But the great majority of Hezbollah fighters in 2006 were uniformed and visually distinguishable from civilians.”
● Human Rights Watch, Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War: “Israel's own firing patterns in Lebanon support the conclusion that Hezbollah fired large numbers of its rockets from tobacco fields, banana, olive and citrus groves, and more remote, unpopulated valleys. Throughout southern Lebanon, Israel subjected such agricultural areas to heavy bombardment with 155mm and 77mm artillery rounds, as well as with M-26 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) with M77 submunitions, a form of cluster weapon designed specifically to suppress, neutralize, and destroy launch locations. Israeli radar was able to locate some Hezbollah launch locations after a rocket was airborne, allowing IDF artillery teams to respond with artillery rounds and M77 submunition fire as an area-effect weapon, in an attempt to kill the launch crews as they escaped and to disable the rocket launcher itself. A large number of the groves and agricultural lands contaminated by duds and marked by artillery impact rounds from such strikes were located at least at the periphery of populated areas, although other suspected Hezbollah launching sites targeted by artillery and M77 cluster rounds were in much more remote and uninhabited valleys.”
● Amnesty International, Out of all proportion – civilians bear the brunt of the war: “As confirmed by Israeli infantry soldiers interviewed by Amnesty International, both Israeli troops and Hizbullah combatants fought each other with similar tactics, often in house-to-house fighting in villages that were largely abandoned by civilians. Amnesty International found evidence of the presence of Israeli troops in homes in several villages, including ‘Aitaroun, ‘Ait al-Sha’b, ‘Ainata and Mheibib. Food wrappers and other items with Hebrew writing, as well as large numbers of spent cartridges and used rocket launchers with Hebrew markings, littered such houses. Israeli soldiers had also vandalized these houses, including with insulting graffiti…. While the presence of Hizbullah’s fighters and short-range weapons within civilian areas is not contested, this in itself is not conclusive evidence of intent to use civilians as ‘human shields’, any more than the presence of Israeli soldiers in a kibbutz is in itself evidence of the same war crime. Such conduct may, however, amount to a violation of the obligation of each party to the conflict to take the necessary precautions to protect civilians under its control from the dangers of military operations ‘to the maximum extent feasible’, and in particular ‘avoiding locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas’. In any case, by placing combatants and a variety of weapons within towns and villages, Hizbullah and Israel remain responsible for rendering such locations lawful targets and therefore exposing civilians who may have been present to risk. Israeli forces and Hizbullah fighters, however, were obliged at all times to apply the principle of distinction and proportionality, and take the precautions required by international humanitarian law, when launching attacks…. In conclusion, had Hizbullah fighters stored Katyushas or launched them from close proximity to civilians in the hope of deterring Israeli attacks, this would have amounted to the crime of using civilians as ‘human shields’. The available evidence suggests that in at least some cases Katyushas were stored within villages and fired from civilian areas, but it is not apparent that civilians were present and used as ‘human shields’…. Israeli officials alleged that Hizbullah prevented civilians from leaving certain areas by blocking roads or even firing over their heads, in order that the civilians would shield the fighters. However, the Israeli authorities provided no evidence of this, beyond suggesting that Amnesty International investigate one such alleged incident in Marwahin. Amnesty International did so and found no evidence to substantiate the allegations. Villagers in Marwahin – including those known for political affiliations rival to Hizbullah – denied that any such event happened. Indeed, many of the villagers fled at the beginning of the hostilities, only for their convoy to be attacked by Israeli forces. None of the people interviewed by Amnesty International in towns and villages in south Lebanon and elsewhere in the country alleged that Hizbullah prevented or tried to prevent them from leaving their town or village, or reported cases where others had been so impeded. Some stated that Hizbullah had warned residents of the likelihood of Israeli attacks in their areas. In some cases, notably during the 48-hour suspension of air strikes by Israel on 31 July and 1 August, Hizbullah activists in certain areas are said to have encouraged or assisted people who had been unable to leave their villages in south Lebanon to do so. Civilians resident in the Beirut neighbourhood of Dhahiyeh, where Hizbullah had its headquarters as well as other offices relating to its media, social, medical and educational activities, were also evacuated before Israeli attacks began. Hizbullah reportedly led the evacuation efforts. In conclusion, the evidence available to Amnesty International does not substantiate the allegations that Hizbullah prevented civilians from fleeing, and in several cases points to the contrary.”
Operation Cast Lead, 2008-2009
● Amnesty International, 22 Days of Death and Destruction: “The allegation that Hamas was using ‘human shields’ was repeatedly made by Israeli government and army officials and spokespersons. In response to any questions about attacks by their own forces against Palestinian civilians or civilian objects or about the impact of their forces’ operations on the civilian population of Gaza, Israeli officials invariably responded that Hamas must be held responsible for any harm caused to civilians by Israeli attacks. Specifically, they accused Hamas of intentionally using the civilian population as ‘human shields’ for their military activities by being based within towns and villages; storing rockets and other weapons in populated areas; firing rockets from close proximity to civilian buildings; and taking cover in civilian buildings after firing. Amnesty International asked the Israeli authorities on several occasions to provide information to substantiate its allegations about the use by Hamas of Gaza’s civilians, but has yet to receive a response… Amnesty International, for its part, did not find evidence that Hamas or other Palestinian groups violated the laws of war to the extent repeatedly alleged by Israel. In particular, it found no evidence that Hamas or other fighters directed the movement of civilians to shield military objectives from attacks. By contrast, Amnesty International did find that Israeli forces on several occasions during Operation “Cast Lead” forced Palestinian civilians to serve as ‘human shields’. In any event, international humanitarian law makes clear that use of ‘human shields’ by one party does not release the attacking party from its legal obligations with respect to civilians. Amnesty International delegates interviewed many Palestinians who complained about Hamas’ conduct, and especially about Hamas’ repression and attacks against their opponents, including killings, torture and arbitrary detentions, but did not receive any accounts of Hamas fighters having used them as ‘human shields’…. The placing of combatants and a variety of weapons within towns and villages by Hamas and Israel, while not in itself of evidence of using ‘human shields’, does amount to a violation of their obligation to take the necessary precautions to protect civilians under its control from the dangers of military operations ‘to the maximum extent feasible’, and in particular ‘avoiding locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas’. Even so, Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters were obliged at all times to apply the principle of distinction and proportionality, and take the precautions required by international humanitarian law, when launching attacks.”
● Human Rights Watch, White Flag Killings: “Israel has repeatedly blamed Hamas for the deaths of Gazan civilians during the operation because, Israel says, Hamas fought from populated areas and used civilians as ‘human shields’—that is, deliberately used civilians to deter attacks against Palestinian forces. In the killings documented in this report, Human Rights Watch found no evidence that the civilian victims were used by Palestinian fighters as human shields or were shot in the crossfire between opposing forces. In each of the incidents, Israeli forces appeared in control, and Palestinian fighters had left the area in question. The civilian victims were in plain view and posed no apparent security threat…. Below are seven incidents during the operation where Israeli soldiers fired with small arms on civilians, killing 11 people—including five women and four children—and wounding at least another eight. These casualties comprise a small fraction of the Palestinian civilians wounded and killed during the operation, but they stand out because, in each case, the victims were standing, walking, or in slowly moving vehicles with other unarmed civilians, and were trying to convey their non-combatant status by waving a white flag. All available evidence indicates that Israeli forces were in control of the areas in question, no fighting was taking place there at the time, and no Palestinian forces were hiding among the civilians or using them as human shields…. Seven neighborhood residents who spoke to Human Rights Watch said that major fighting in the area had stopped by the morning of January 7, although sporadic exchanges of fire may have continued after that. In three cases documented by Human Rights Watch, starting on January 5, the IDF detained Palestinian men from the neighborhood and forced them to perform dangerous tasks of a military nature, such as searching Palestinian homes. In two of these cases, Israeli soldiers stood behind a Palestinian man who was forced to search a home. Deliberately using civilians to deter attacks on a military target is considered ‘human shielding.’ The use of civilians as human shields or to engage in work for military purposes violates international humanitarian law…. In July another group of IDF soldiers spoke out about the abuses they had seen during Operation Cast Lead. The Israeli organization Breaking the Silence, composed of veteran Israeli soldiers, published the testimonies of 26 unnamed reserve and regular combat soldiers who had participated in the operation. The soldiers spoke about the destruction of private property without military necessity, the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, the firing of white phosphorus into populated areas, and, relevant to this report, the killings of civilians with small arms. Two soldiers from the Givati brigade who served in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, for example, explained how soldiers shot and killed an elderly Palestinian man who had approached an IDF position in a house at night. The company commander refused to give orders for deterrent fire when the man was first sighted walking on an empty street with a flashlight between 150 and 200 meters from the house, they said, so soldiers in accordance with their rules of engagement shot and killed the man when he reached within 25 meters.”
● The National Lawyers Guild, Onslaught: Israel’s Attack On Gaza & The Rule Of Law: “The Delegation interviewed several individuals who testified that Israeli soldiers did in fact use Palestinian civilians as human shields and coerced cooperation from them. The most striking testimony was provided by Majdi Abed Rabbo. Majdi Abed Rabbo, 38, lives with his wife and five children, ages 1-15, in the Jabaliya neighborhood of Gaza City. On the morning of January 5, 2009, three Israeli soldiers entered Majdi’s home. After asking questions about the adjoining house (hereafter referred to as ‘the Hatem house’), the officers ordered Majdi to break through the common wall separating the residences to gain access to the rooftop. Once the wall was removed an officer crossed over to the rooftop of the Hatem house, taking Majdi with him at gunpoint. After viewing militants in the Hatem house, a soldier told Majdi to go inside the house and bring the militants’ clothes and their weapons back to the soldiers. When Majdi objected, the officer repeated the instructions and then hit and kicked him. Fearing for his and his family’s safety, Majdi did as he was told. When Majdi entered the house he found three militants. They had heard the soldiers’ instructions to Majdi and told him to return and inform the soldiers of exactly what he saw. After Majdi returned, shooting erupted between the militants and Israeli soldiers. After it ceased, the soldiers, apparently assuming that the militants had been killed after the Israeli military had fired rockets at the house, again told Majdi to go to the Hatem house and retrieve the three bodies. When he again entered the Hatem house Majdi found the three men, one injured but the other two unharmed. After bringing back the message that the militants wanted the soldiers to come and face them themselves, the soldiers beat him and bound his hands and feet. During the course of the evening, Israeli forces launched several missiles that destroyed both the Hatem house and Majdi’s own house. After the final missile attack, an Israeli officer told Majdi that he was certain that the militants were now dead and that Majdi must go and confirm their deaths before the army would permit him to see his family again. Majdi thus was forced to go to the Hatem house yet again. When he reported that the militants were in fact not dead, the officers doubted his account. The Israeli military then demolished the house over the three men inside; Majdi was placed in a house with other residents of the neighborhood and kept there for two days. He was ultimately reunited with his family when they were all allowed to leave. In this case, the Israeli officer coerced Majdi, a civilian non-combatant, into acting on Israel’s behalf to achieve a military objective. Requiring Majdi to engage in potentially life-threatening acts helpful to the Israeli military constitutes a war crime and should subject those responsible to prosecution.”
● Breaking the Silence, Soldiers Testimonies from Operation Cast Lead, Gaza 2009: “Sometimes the force would enter while placing rifle barrels on a civilian's shoulder, advancing into a house and using him as a human shield. Commanders said these were the instructions and we had to do it… Anyway, at the concluding debriefing, he (the unit commander) said he didn't know about these things, and the guys, commanders who had been there the first week, said they saw civilians being assigned to break walls and enter with rifle barrels on their shoulders. He said he didn't know this and would look into it. I think nothing substantial had been done about it, I’m also in touch with one of the officers there at present and I don't know if an investigation was made and nothing was found or that nothing was cleared up.” “Occasionally some civilians would show up. Another force searched a house nearby and found civilians inside. They assembled them, I don't know what they did with them. One day some refugees, civilians, came in and were searched and taken away, or assembled in the house next door. I think they had been there the whole time. there was not much control over this. they were used as ‘Johnnies’ (at a different point in the interview the witness described the ‘Johnnie’ procedure, using Palestinian civilians as human shields during house searches), and then released, and we’re finding them in later searches.” “After we got out of there, we had a talk with our unit commander. All kinds of things came up and professional issues were also addressed. Some people said that the crew was not sufficiently prepared, and they also brought up moral issues that troubled them such as using civilians. He denied this, but I don't believe him when he says he's not aware of this happening on the ground. This procedure of using civilians exists, he knows about this. ‘Neighbor procedure’ is an official army procedure; it's just not called that any longer. The brigade commander was on the ground the whole time. He even came to visit us one day. An official army procedure means army instructions.”
● Human Rights Watch, Rockets from Gaza: “As noted, parties to a conflict violate the laws of war when they fail to take all feasible precautions to avoid placing forces, weapons, and ammunition within or near densely populated areas. Deliberately using civilians to deter attacks on military targets amounts to ‘human shielding,’ which is a war crime. In the preceding cases, Human Rights Watch either could not determine or the evidence did not indicate that militants launched rockets from areas close to civilians with the intention of deterring Israeli forces from counter-attacking. The International Crisis Group interviewed three Hamas fighters in January who said they ‘often fired [rockets] in close proximity to homes and from alleys, hoping that nearby civilians would deter Israel from responding’ – indicating the intent to use civilians as shields. The Crisis Group’s report and the staff who conducted the interviews did not provide further details or specific cases of shielding.”
● Human Rights Watch, Letter to EU Foreign Ministers to Address Violations between Israel and Hamas, March 16, 2009: “Parties to a conflict must never use the presence of civilians to purposefully shield themselves from attack, which is a war crime. In the case of the IDF attacks that Human Rights Watch was able to investigate, we did not document any cases in which Hamas fighters deliberately used civilians to protect themselves against an Israeli attack. However, our investigation in this regard has been limited by the Israeli government's refusal to permit our researchers access to Gaza.”
● Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict: “The Mission found the foregoing witnesses to be credible and reliable. It has no reason to doubt the veracity of their accounts and found that the different stories serve to support the allegation that Palestinians were used as human shields…. In more general terms, the Mission notes that the statements of the men used as human shields by the Israeli armed forces during house searches are corroborated by statements made by Israeli soldiers to the NGO Breaking the Silence. The soldier providing testimony 1 speaks of the ‘Johnnie procedure’: ‘It was the first week of the war, fighting was intense, there were explosive charges to expose, tunnels in open spaces and armed men inside houses. […] Close in on each house. The method used has a new name now – no longer 'neighbour procedure.' Now people are called 'Johnnie.' They're Palestinian civilians, and they're called Johnnies […] To every house we close in on, we send the neighbour in, 'the Johnnie,' and if there are armed men inside, we start, like working the 'pressure cooker' in the West Bank.’ This soldier then mentions that some commanders were ‘bothered’ by the fact that ‘civilians were used to a greater extent than just sending them into houses.’ A second soldier interviewed by Breaking the Silence, testimony 17, appears to have discussed the ‘Johnnie procedure’ at length, but his testimony was censored or otherwise cut in that respect, so that we can only read: ‘They [civilians found in houses] were used as ‘Johnnies’ (at a different point in the interview the witness described the ‘Johnnie’ procedure, using Palestinian civilians as human shields during house searches), and then released, and we’re finding them in later searches.’ The Mission thus finds that while these testimonies do not confirm the details of the specific cases it investigated, they strongly support the general allegation that the Israeli armed forces engaged in the practice of compelling Palestinian civilians to accompany them on house searches…. The Mission further finds from the facts available to it that the conduct of the Israeli armed forces in the cases above violates article 31 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. This provision dictates that ‘no physical or moral coercion shall be exercised against protected persons, in particular to obtain information from them or from third parties.’”
● Human Rights Watch, Soldiers’ Punishment for Using Boy as ‘Human Shield’ Inadequate: “Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations and the Goldstone report commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council documented at least 21 allegations of cases in which Israeli soldiers used human shields during the offensive. Israeli human rights groups documented dozens of cases in which Israeli soldiers used human shields in the years before the Gaza conflict…. In a July 2010 report, Israel said it would criminally investigate all allegations of human shielding, but published information about only 5 of at least 21 cases of which nongovernmental organizations and the Goldstone report notified the authorities, making it difficult to assess the adequacy of any other investigations or to know whether and why they were closed.”
Operation Protective Edge, 2014
● Amnesty International, Unlawful and Deadly: Rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict: “During and after the hostilities, the Israeli authorities repeatedly stated that Hamas used Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip as ‘human shields’. At different times during the fighting, Israeli officials pointed to numerous actions by Hamas and Palestinian armed groups as examples of using civilians in Gaza to shield military activities. These included basing fighters within residential areas; urging civilians not to leave their homes after warnings from Israel; using civilian structures for military activity; storing rockets and other weapons in civilian structures and within populated areas; firing rockets from within or in close proximity to civilian buildings; taking cover in civilian buildings after firing; and building tunnels within civilian areas or under civilian structures…. Amnesty International has not been able to verify specific statements which the Israeli authorities have cited as made by Hamas officials during the hostilities encouraging civilians in Gaza to ignore IDF warnings to evacuate. However, the reported statements were directed to civilians in general or in large geographic areas; for example, Ministry of Interior spokesperson Iyad al-Buzm’s call on people ‘in all parts of the Strip to ignore the warnings… as these are part of a psychological warfare’. Public statements referring to entire areas do not amount to directing specific civilians to remain in their homes in order to render fighters, munitions or military equipment in specific locations immune from Israeli attacks. Thus, while potentially of concern, such statements would not constitute the use of ‘human shields’. There are no bomb shelters or protective facilities for Gaza’s 1.8 million people, and no place in the Strip was truly safe during the hostilities. In some cases, the warnings issued by the Israeli military did not specify safe evacuation routes, and in many cases, civilians who tried to evacuate came under Israeli fire. In these circumstances, the Hamas authorities instructing civilians in the Gaza Strip not to leave their homes could have been out of concern for their safety or a desire to avoid further panic. It cannot be presumed that the intention of any such statements by the authorities was to use civilians to prevent the targeting of specific military objectives by Israeli forces. The Israeli authorities have claimed that in a few incidents, the Hamas authorities or Palestinian fighters directed or physically coerced individual civilians in specific locations to shield combatants or military objectives. Amnesty International has not been able to corroborate the facts in any of these cases. Specific assertions of the use of civilians as ‘human shields’ by Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip should be independently investigated.”
● International Committee for the Red Cross, Operation Protective Edge: “Based on the information available to the commission, the manner in which the Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian civilians to stand in windows, enter houses/underground areas and/or perform dangerous tasks of a military nature, constitutes a violation of the prohibition against the use of human shields contained in article 28 of Geneva Convention IV, and may amount to a war crime. These incidents also raise concerns that in two of the cases, the IDF may have violated the obligation to hold persons deprived of their liberty in premises that are removed from the combat zone, when detaining them for several days. The tasks the victims were ordered to perform by the soldiers jeopardized their lives and health. That conduct, together with the physical and/or psychological violence to which the victims were subjected by the soldiers, constitutes ill-treatment and may amount to torture. In addition, should allegations that victims were coerced to provide information concerning armed groups and the whereabouts of relatives and tunnels be confirmed, this would amount to a violation of article 31 of the Geneva Convention IV, which states that ‘no physical or moral coercion shall be exercised against protected persons, in particular to obtain information from them or from third parties.’”
Operation Swords of Iron (current invasion of Gaza)
● Haaretz, Israeli Army Uses Palestinian Civilians to Inspect Potentially Booby-trapped Tunnels in Gaza: “At first it's hard to recognize them. They're usually wearing Israeli army uniforms, many of them are in their 20s, and they're always with Israeli soldiers of various ranks. But if you look more closely, you see that most of them are wearing sneakers, not army boots. And their hands are cuffed behind their backs and their faces are full of fear. The soldiers call each of them a shawish, an obscure Arabic word of Turkish origin meaning sergeant. Random Palestinians have been used by Israeli army units in the Gaza Strip for one purpose: to serve as human shields for soldiers during operations…. The picture that emerges: In recent months, Israeli soldiers have used human shields in this way all over Gaza; even the chief of staff's office knows…. The army has played innocent despite footage shown on Al Jazeera about two months ago. Israeli soldiers can be seen dressing Palestinian detainees in uniforms and flak jackets, putting cameras on them and sending them into badly damaged houses and tunnel entrances with their hands bound by plastic ties.”