Israeli use of human shields in Gaza was systemic, soldiers and former detainees tell the AP

TEL AVIV Israel AP The only times the Palestinian man wasn t bound or blindfolded he mentioned was when he was used by Israeli soldiers as their human shield 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 disclosed When one unit finished with him he was passed to the next They beat me and reported me You have no other option do this or we ll kill you ' the -year-old narrated The Associated Press describing the weeks he was held last summer by the Israeli military in northern Gaza Orders often came from the top and at times nearly every platoon used a Palestinian to clear locations reported an Israeli officer speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal Several Palestinians and soldiers notified the AP that Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants The dangerous practice has become ubiquitous during months of war they revealed In response to these statements Israel s military says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza Israeli representatives blame the militants for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians In a report to the AP the military revealed it also bans otherwise coercing civilians to participate in operations and all such orders are routinely emphasized to the forces The military declared it s assessing several cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in missions but wouldn t provide details It didn t answer questions about the reach of the practice or any orders from commanding officers The AP spoke with seven Palestinians who described being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and with two members of Israel s military who disclosed they engaged in the practice which is prohibited by international law Rights groups are ringing the alarm saying it s become standard procedure increasingly used in the war These are not isolated accounts they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse reported Nadav Weiman executive director of Urgent the Silence a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers that has collected testimonies about the practice from within the military Israel rightly condemns Hamas for using civilians as human shields but our own soldiers describe doing the very same Abu Hamadan announced he was detained in August after being separated from his family and soldiers notified him he d help with a special mission He was forced for days to search houses and inspect every hole in the ground for tunnels he declared Soldiers stood behind him and once it was clear entered the buildings to damage or destroy them he commented He spent each night bound in a dark room only to wake up and do it again The use of human shields caught on like fire Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades The Supreme Court outlawed the practice in But the groups continued to document violations Still experts say this war is the first time in decades the practice and the debate around it has been so widespread The two Israeli soldiers who spoke to the AP and a third who provided testimony to Current the Silence mentioned commanders were aware of the use of human shields and tolerated it with a few giving orders to do so A few mentioned it was referred to as the mosquito protocol and that Palestinians were also referred to as wasps and other dehumanizing terms The soldiers who noted they re no longer serving in Gaza stated the practice sped up operations saved ammunition and spared combat dogs from injury or death The soldiers explained they first became aware human shields were being used shortly after the war erupted on Oct when Hamas attacked Israel and that it became widespread by the middle of Orders to bring a mosquito often came via radio they revealed shorthand everyone understood Soldiers acted on commanding officers orders according to the officer who spoke to the AP He noted that by the end of his nine months in Gaza every infantry unit used a Palestinian to clear houses before entering Once this idea was initiated it caught on like fire in a field the -year-old announced People saw how effective and easy it was He described a planning meeting where a brigade commander presented to the division commander a slide reading get a mosquito and a suggestion they might just catch one off the streets The officer wrote two occurrence reports to the brigade commander detailing the use of human shields reports that would have been escalated to the division chief he revealed The military commented it had no comment when appealed whether it received them One statement documented the accidental killing of a Palestinian he commented troops didn t realize another unit was using him as a shield and shot him as he ran into a house The officer recommended the Palestinians be dressed in army clothes to avoid misidentification He explained he knew of at least one other Palestinian who died while used as a shield he passed out in a tunnel Troops unsuccessfully pushed back a sergeant says Convincing soldiers to operate lawfully when they see their enemy using questionable practices is tough stated Michael Schmitt a distinguished professor of international law at the U S Military Academy at West Point Israeli authorities and other observers say Hamas uses civilians as shields as it embeds itself in communities hiding fighters in hospitals and schools It s really a heavy lift to look at your own soldiers and say you have to comply Schmitt stated One soldier communicated the AP his unit tried to refuse to use human shields in mid- but were communicated they had no choice with a high-ranking officer saying they shouldn t worry about international humanitarian law The sergeant speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal announced the troops used a -year-old and a -year-old for a insufficient days The boy shook constantly he noted and both repeated Rafah Rafah Gaza s southernmost city where more than million Palestinians had fled from fighting elsewhere at that point in the war It seemed they were begging to be freed the sergeant reported I have children one man says he pleaded Masoud Abu Saeed revealed he was used as a shield for two weeks in March in the southern city of Khan Younis This is extremely dangerous he recounted telling a soldier I have children and want to reunite with them The -year-old mentioned he was forced into houses buildings and a hospital to dig up suspected tunnels and clear areas He noted he wore a first-responder vest for easy identification carrying a phone hammer and chain cutters During one operation he bumped into his brother used as a shield by another unit he revealed They hugged I thought Israel s army had executed him he mentioned Palestinians also review being used as shields in the West Bank Hazar Estity announced soldiers took her Jenin refugee camp home in November forcing her to film inside several apartments and clear them before troops entered She declared she pleaded to return to her -month-old son but soldiers didn t listen I was the bulk afraid that they would kill me she disclosed And that I wouldn t see my son again Magdy released from Cairo Source