How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza

[Surrealistik]

How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian former detainees say troops have regularly forced captured Gazans to carry out life-threatening tasks, including inside Hamas tunnels.

www.nytimes.com

https://archive.ph/aDNds#selection-885.0-934.0 (archival link)

After Israeli soldiers found Mohammed Shubeir hiding with his family in early March, they detained him for roughly 10 days before releasing him without charge, he said.
During that time, Mr. Shubeir said, the soldiers used him as a human shield.

Mr. Shubeir, then 17, said he was forced to walk handcuffed through the empty ruins of his hometown, Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, searching for explosives set by Hamas. To avoid being blown up themselves, the soldiers made him go ahead, Mr. Shubeir said.

In one wrecked building, he stopped in his tracks: Running along the wall, he said, was a series of wires attached to explosives.

“The soldiers sent me like a dog to a booby-trapped apartment,” said Mr. Shubeir, a high school student. “I thought these would be the last moments of my life.”

An investigation by The New York Times found that Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents, throughout the war in Gaza, have regularly forced captured Palestinians like Mr. Shubeir to conduct life-threatening reconnaissance missions to avoid putting Israeli soldiers at risk on the battlefield.

More confirmation of atrocities that are already known by anyone who is paying attention to the IDF's indefensible conduct, this time by a respected MSM source that is generally pro-Israel leaning: https://theintercept.com/2024/01/09/newspapers-israel-palestine-bias-new-york-times/

I'm just going to go ahead and guess that Israel's apologists and defenders both here and elsewhere that clutch pearls and claim to lament greatly about the use of human shields by Israel's opponents will scramble to minimize, discount and otherwise make excuses for this same heinous behaviour by the IDF.

 

[Craig234]

Try to get one genocide supporter to show any honesty, morals, integrity and condemn the IDF use of Palestinian human shields. That you can't shows the murderous fanaticism. Like the genocide and occupation didn't already.

 

[anatta]

At one point, the engineers lowered a camera into the tunnels using a rope, so that they could more clearly see what was inside, according to a soldier involved in the operation. Watching a live feed from the camera, the engineers saw a man inside the tunnel, probably a Hamas operative.

Concluding that Hamas fighters were still using the tunnel, the officers at the site decided that they would send a Palestinian with a bodycam to explore it further, instead of Israeli engineers, the soldier said.

Throughout the war, soldiers across different units generally referred to the detainees by the same terms. A “wasp” generally meant people brought to Gaza from Israel by intelligence officers for brief and specific missions; however, some soldiers said it referred to paid collaborators who voluntarily entered Gaza, while others said it referred to detainees. A “mosquito” described detainees who were captured in Gaza and swiftly deployed without being taken to Israel, sometimes for several days and even weeks. “Mosquitoes” were used far more often than “wasps.”
They were all considered expendable, the soldier said. “If the tunnel explodes, at least he will die and not one of us,” he recalled an officer saying.

 

[Ganondagan]

How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian former detainees say troops have regularly forced captured Gazans to carry out life-threatening tasks, including inside Hamas tunnels.

www.nytimes.com

https://archive.ph/aDNds#selection-885.0-934.0 (archival link)



More confirmation of atrocities that are already known by anyone who is paying attention to the IDF's indefensible conduct, this time by a respected MSM source that is generally pro-Israel leaning: https://theintercept.com/2024/01/09/newspapers-israel-palestine-bias-new-york-times/

I'm just going to go ahead and guess that Israel's apologists and defenders both here and elsewhere that clutch pearls and claim to lament greatly about the use of human shields by Israel's opponents will scramble to minimize, discount and otherwise make excuses for this same heinous behaviour by the IDF.

https://archive.ph/aDNds

The Israeli military said in a statement that its “directives and guidelines strictly prohibit the use of detained Gaza civilians for military operations.” It added that the accounts of the Palestinian detainees and soldiers interviewed by The Times would be “examined by the relevant authorities.”

The Israeli military employed a similar practice, known as the “neighbor procedure,” in Gaza and the West Bank in the early 2000s. Soldiers would force Palestinian civilians to approach the homes of militants to persuade them to surrender. That procedure was banned in 2005 by Israel’s Supreme Court, in an expansive ruling that also outlawed the use of human shields in other contexts. The court’s president, Aharon Barak, ruled that a resident of an occupied territory “should not be brought, even with his consent, into an area where a military operation is taking place.”

 

[Mycroft]

How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian former detainees say troops have regularly forced captured Gazans to carry out life-threatening tasks, including inside Hamas tunnels.

www.nytimes.com

https://archive.ph/aDNds#selection-885.0-934.0 (archival link)



More confirmation of atrocities that are already known by anyone who is paying attention to the IDF's indefensible conduct, this time by a respected MSM source that is generally pro-Israel leaning: https://theintercept.com/2024/01/09/newspapers-israel-palestine-bias-new-york-times/

I'm just going to go ahead and guess that Israel's apologists and defenders both here and elsewhere that clutch pearls and claim to lament greatly about the use of human shields by Israel's opponents will scramble to minimize, discount and otherwise make excuses for this same heinous behaviour by the IDF.

You act like these Palestinians are innocent victims. They aren't. At the least, they turn a blind eye to the terroristic actions of Hamas. Most wholeheartedly support the terrorism of Hamas. That makes them accessories to terror and, as such, I have zero sympathy for them.

 

[Serenity]

Jesus.

 

[Surrealistik]

https://archive.ph/aDNds

The Israeli military said in a statement that its “directives and guidelines strictly prohibit the use of detained Gaza civilians for military operations.” It added that the accounts of the Palestinian detainees and soldiers interviewed by The Times would be “examined by the relevant authorities.”

The Israeli military employed a similar practice, known as the “neighbor procedure,” in Gaza and the West Bank in the early 2000s. Soldiers would force Palestinian civilians to approach the homes of militants to persuade them to surrender. That procedure was banned in 2005 by Israel’s Supreme Court, in an expansive ruling that also outlawed the use of human shields in other contexts. The court’s president, Aharon Barak, ruled that a resident of an occupied territory “should not be brought, even with his consent, into an area where a military operation is taking place.”

Yet the IDF continues to do it in defiance of not only international law, but their own.

 

[spud_meister]

You act like these Palestinians are innocent victims. They aren't. At the least, they turn a blind eye to the terroristic actions of Hamas. Most wholeheartedly support the terrorism of Hamas. That makes them accessories to terror and, as such, I have zero sympathy for them.

What action has Hamas done that the US hasn't? If you support the US, you deserve to be killed too.

 

[Sweden]

The mentality of soldiers will not have changed over the last few thousand years; you do everything you can to reduce the danger to your mates by passing on some of the risk to an enemy whenever the opportunity arises. I was just a sailor but that is what I would have done.

And by the way Hamas cowered behind their own people, something which the IDF has never done.

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

If you support the US, you deserve to be killed too.

WOW, you didn't just say that?

 

[Mycroft]

What action has Hamas done that the US hasn't?

This isn't about the US.

Your deflection is noted...and rejected.

Bye.

 

[Serenity]

The mentality of soldiers will not have changed over the last few thousand years; you do everything you can to reduce the danger to your mates by passing on some of the risk to an enemy whenever the opportunity arises. I was just a sailor but that is what I would have done.

And by the way Hamas cowered behind their own people, something which the IDF has never done.

The Palestinian was a17 year old high school student who had been detained for ten days then released without charge. During that time he was used as a human shield.

And you are defending it and referring to him as an enemy. He was released without charge. Are all Palestinian kids automatically enemies?

It's not ok when Hamas does it and it's not ok when the IDF do it.

Using people as human shields is wrong whoever is doing it.

Surely?

 

[Ganondagan]

Yet the IDF continues to do it in defiance of not only international law, but their own.

The difference is that HAMAS uses human shields as a deliberate part of their stated policy. Israel does not. A few instances of this kind of morally offensive behavior in time of war is understandable, but it is not condoned by Israel while it is not only condoned by HAMAS, it's mandated.

 

[Surrealistik]

The difference is that HAMAS uses human shields as a deliberate part of their stated policy. Israel does not. A few instances of this kind of morally offensive behavior in time of war is understandable, but it is not condoned by Israel while it is not only condoned by HAMAS, it's mandated.

It's actually rather deliberate and recurring in the IDF, as determined by both the NYT's findings (which determined at least 11 squads have done it, including with the involvement of intelligence officers), and the Israeli Supreme Court back in 2005.

Moreover, back in August, the Israeli paper Haaretz and Israeli veteran NGO Breaking the Silence have determined that the practice is widespread and routine, and at a minimum, known to senior leadership; this is far from a case of isolated bad apples, and is almost certainly systemic given the collective research of all sources thus far, even if it is not embraced as 'official policy' (notably HAMAS doesn't embrace human shields as official policy either, even if they utilize the practice):

https://www.theguardian.com/world/a...as-human-shields-against-possible-booby-traps

IDF uses Gazan civilians as human shields to inspect potentially booby-trapped tunnels

***

www.haaretz.com

Israeli soldiers are using Palestinian civilians as human shields in Gaza to enter and clear tunnels and buildings they suspect may have been booby-trapped, a leading Israeli NGO and newspaper have reported.

The practice was so widespread across different units fighting in Gaza that it could in effect be considered a “protocol”, said Nadav Weiman, the executive director of Breaking the Silence, a group founded by Israeli combat veterans to document military abuses.

The group has collected testimony describing the practice from veterans of the 10-month war in Gaza. The accounts they have heard match those reported in an investigation by the newspaper Haaretz, which claimed that the chief of staff’s office was aware of the practice.

“The senior ranks know about it,” one source said to have taken part in finding civilians to serve as human shields told the paper. “Our lives are more important than their lives,” Haaretz quoted commanders telling their soldiers.

The practice is said to be so routine that Israeli soldiers have a name for the human shields, who are referred to as shawish – informal slang for a low-ranking soldier – and the process was described by several witnesses.

Palestinian civilians, mostly young men, are picked up by Israeli soldiers, dressed in Israeli army uniforms, then sent into tunnels and damaged houses ahead of Israeli forces, soldiers told Haaretz and Breaking the Silence.

 

[snakestretcher]

https://archive.ph/aDNds

The Israeli military said in a statement that its “directives and guidelines strictly prohibit the use of detained Gaza civilians for military operations.” It added that the accounts of the Palestinian detainees and soldiers interviewed by The Times would be “examined by the relevant authorities.”

The Israeli military employed a similar practice, known as the “neighbor procedure,” in Gaza and the West Bank in the early 2000s. Soldiers would force Palestinian civilians to approach the homes of militants to persuade them to surrender. That procedure was banned in 2005 by Israel’s Supreme Court, in an expansive ruling that also outlawed the use of human shields in other contexts. The court’s president, Aharon Barak, ruled that a resident of an occupied territory “should not be brought, even with his consent, into an area where a military operation is taking place.”

Yes, the 2005 ban was appealed by the IDF who lost the appeal, and the practise, a war crime, continues to this day in defiance of the High Court ban.

 

[snakestretcher]

The mentality of soldiers will not have changed over the last few thousand years; you do everything you can to reduce the danger to your mates by passing on some of the risk to an enemy whenever the opportunity arises. I was just a sailor but that is what I would have done.

And by the way Hamas cowered behind their own people, something which the IDF has never done.

Aside from the Israeli propaganda which you so eagerly devour, there has been no evidence presented that Hamas uses human shields. Of course you are free to supply said evidence if you have it. The brave and fearless warriors of the IDF cower behind Palestinian children. Defend this:

https://www.itv.com/watch/news/idf-violated-protocol-after-palestinian-man-strapped-to-hood-of-military-jeep/gx25bcr

 

[Ganondagan]

Yes, the 2005 ban was appealed by the IDF who lost the appeal, and the practise, a war crime, continues to this day in defiance of the High Court ban.

IDF denies report troops are using detained Gazans as human shields​

IDF denies report troops are using detained Gazans as human shields

Israeli military says its rules 'forbid' such activity, though NY Times cites retired IDF Brig. Gen Tamir Hayman saying detainees are coerced or volunteer for such operations

www.timesofisrael.com

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday denied a report in the New York Times alleging that its troops were using Gazans as human shields during operations in the Strip.

The military told The Times of Israel that “the orders and instructions of the IDF forbid using civilians in Gaza who were arrested in the field for military missions.”

“The orders and instructions are made clear regularly to soldiers in the field during the war,” the IDF added.

 

[snakestretcher]

IDF denies report troops are using detained Gazans as human shields​

IDF denies report troops are using detained Gazans as human shields

Israeli military says its rules 'forbid' such activity, though NY Times cites retired IDF Brig. Gen Tamir Hayman saying detainees are coerced or volunteer for such operations

www.timesofisrael.com

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday denied a report in the New York Times alleging that its troops were using Gazans as human shields during operations in the Strip.

The military told The Times of Israel that “the orders and instructions of the IDF forbid using civilians in Gaza who were arrested in the field for military missions.”

“The orders and instructions are made clear regularly to soldiers in the field during the war,” the IDF added.

Denial, despite IDF soldiers having been convicted by a military court of the crime? Try harder next time.

Two Israeli soldiers guilty of using human shield in Gaza

An Israeli military court convicts two Israeli soldiers for using a Palestinian child as a human shield during an assault on Gaza in 2009.

www.bbc.co.uk

https://www.france24.com/en/20101003-israeli-soldiers-convicted-using-child-human-shield-palestinian-territories

 

[Tigerace117]

The mentality of soldiers will not have changed over the last few thousand years; you do everything you can to reduce the danger to your mates by passing on some of the risk to an enemy whenever the opportunity arises. I was just a sailor but that is what I would have done.

And by the way Hamas cowered behind their own people, something which the IDF has never done.

Yes, the IDF cowers behind Palestinian civilians while the West ecstatically cheers them on.

And then somehow the West wonders why no one takes them seriously when they shriek about opponents of the West committing war crimes, all while America and its “allies” endorse Israel using Palestinian civilians as human shields.

 

[snakestretcher]

Yes, the IDF cowers behind Palestinian civilians while the West ecstatically cheers them on.

And then somehow the West wonders why no one takes them seriously when they shriek about opponents of the West committing war crimes, all while America and its “allies” endorse Israel using Palestinian civilians as human shields.

The claims of these fanatical pro-Israel shills are so easily debunked it's not even funny any more. Taking candy from a baby...

 

[Ganondagan]

The mentality of soldiers will not have changed over the last few thousand years; you do everything you can to reduce the danger to your mates by passing on some of the risk to an enemy whenever the opportunity arises. I was just a sailor but that is what I would have done.

And by the way Hamas cowered behind their own people, something which the IDF has never done.

The UN and other international organizations feel comfortable holding Israel's military to stricter standards than any other military in the world, to the point of actively hindering Israel's ability to defend itself. Frankly, the number of members on this forum criticizing Israel for the way it fights for it's very survival disgusts me. Never in my life did I believe we'd see this level of Jew hatred again.

 

[snakestretcher]

The UN and other international organizations feel comfortable holding Israel's military to stricter standards than any other military in the world, to the point of actively hindering Israel's ability to defend itself. Frankly, the number of members on this forum criticizing Israel for the way it fights for it's very survival disgusts me. Never in my life did I believe we'd see this level of Jew hatred again.

Stricter standards than who and where? Using civilians as human shields is a war crime and those guilty of its use should be held accountable and punished to the highest extent of the law, not merely given a token telling-off. Why do you endorse the employment by the IDF of war crimes and consider legitimately condemning those guilty of it as "Jew hating"? I don't anticipate anything less than a deflection in reply.

 

[Craig234]

Yet the IDF continues to do it in defiance of not only international law, but their own.

They generally seem to ignore their laws. For example, the courts ordered an end to the Hannibal doctrine, so they just stopped making it obvious, for example issueing verbal orders instead of written, or not using the name. The 'inconvenience' of the laws seems a reason Netanyahu tried to get political control of the courts.

 

[Craig234]

And you are defending it and referring to him as an enemy. He was released without charge. Are all Palestinian kids automatically enemies?

Yes.

It's not ok when Hamas does it and it's not ok when the IDF do it.

Can you show me the last time it's confirmed Hamas did that? There's a false equivalency there claiming 'they both do it'. And of course another difference is that the IDF doesn't care about killing a 'human shield' if it was there, but we only see that as they intentionally kill *their own people* who are prisoners with the Hannibal Doctrine, and kill hostages held in Gaza, and have refused to make a deal for them after last November.

 

[Craig234]

The IDF not only uses Palestinians as 'human shields' for soldiers and vehicles, they also force them to enter areas they suspect might be booby-trapped, open suspicious containers, etc.

There was one story where they had a bound detainee they ordered to go in a hospital and order everyone to leave it, saying they had his mother and would kill her if he didn't cooperate. After he did and returned, they killed him in front of his mother.