Живые щиты
ИЗРАИЛЬСКИЙ ЦЕНТР ИНФОРМАЦИИ ПО
НА ОККУПИРОВАННЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЯХ
  On 6 October 2005, the High Court of Justice ruled that it was illegal for the IDF to use Palestinian civilians during military actions. The decision was made on a petition that B'Tselem and six other human rights organizations filed in 2002. The petition followed the IDF's use of Palestinian civilians as human shields since the beginning of the second intifada, primarily during IDF operations carried out in Palestinian population centers, as occurred in Operation Defensive Shield.

Soldiers used to pick civilians at random and force the civilians to protect them by doing dangerous tasks. For example, soldiers have ordered Palestinians to:

The method is the same each time: soldiers pick a civilian at random and force him to protect them by doing dangerous tasks that put his life at risk. For example, soldiers have ordered Palestinians to:

  • enter buildings to check if they are booby-trapped, or to remove the occupants
  • remove suspicious objects from roads used by the army
  • stand inside houses where soldiers have set up military positions, so that Palestinians will not fire at the soldiers
  • walk in front of soldiers to shield them from gunfire, while the soldiers hold a gun behind their backs and sometimes fire over their shoulders.

The soldiers in the field did not initiate this practice; rather, the order to use civilians as a means of protection was made by senior army officials.

The true test of this ruling will be in its implementation. It should not be forgotten that the army violated the Court's interim injunction. The IDF must now ensure that all soldiers in the field are informed that it is absolutely forbidden to use civilians to perform military tasks.