Several Israeli soldiers admitted that commanders in the army had issued orders to use Palestinians as human shields.
They confirmed that Israeli forces systematically force Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to search for explosives or fighters, according to a report in British newspaper The Guardian.
They emphasised that this dangerous practice has become common during the ongoing 20-month war.
The report quoted Israeli soldiers, including one who gave testimony to Breaking the Silence organisation, as saying that “commanders were aware of the use of Palestinians as human shields and tolerated it – in fact, some even issued orders for it.”
Some soldiers noted that using Palestinians as human shields was referred to as the ‘Mosquito Protocol’, and Palestinians were also labelled as ‘wasps’, among other terms.
Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence, which collected testimonies about this practice from within the military, explained that these are not isolated incidents, but rather indicate a systematic failure and a horrifying moral collapse.
The report quoted seven Palestinians who described being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and two members of Israel’s military who said they engaged in the practice, which is prohibited by international law.
Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. The supreme court outlawed the practice in 2005, but the groups continued to document violations.
Experts say this war is the first time in decades that the practice – and the debate around it – has been so widespread.
Dressed in army fatigues with a camera fixed to his forehead, Ayman Abu Hamadan was forced into houses in the Gaza Strip to make sure they were clear of bombs and gunmen, he said. When one unit finished with him, he was passed to the next, according to the report.
“They beat me and told me” ‘You have no other option; do this or we’ll kill you,” the 36-year-old said, describing the two and half weeks he was held last summer by the Israeli military in northern Gaza.
In response to these allegations, Israel’s military says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields – a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza. Israeli officials blame the fighters for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
&uuid=(email))