In an effort to document the longstanding Israeli practice of exploiting Palestinian youths to protect their occupation forces, Defence for Children International Palestine (DCI-Palestine) released this video of the Israeli Border Police. It allegedly shows a Palestinian teenager being forced to act as a human shield. The young man, identified only as “Mohammed K., 17,” had been participating in a demonstration in support of hunger striking prisoners that occurred in the West Bank town of Abu Dis on Friday, April 19.
The video shows a handcuffed Palestinian teenager being taken from a police jeep and forced to accompany policemen as they approached and shot into a crowd of protesters who are not visible in the frame. The video was shot by Huthifa Jamous, who is a local journalist.
The DCI-Palestine website quotes Mohammed’s father stating that his son was “roughed up” and bruised by the police, who detained the teenager for questioning.
According to a report by Agence France Presse, a Border Police spokesman denied that the youth was being used as a shield; instead he claims that the young man was displayed to the protesters to prove to them that he had not been harmed. An action which the spokesman claimed calmed the protesters whose number he estimated to be 400.
DCI-Palestine reported two months ago, that a 9-year-old boy was forced to act as a human shield by Israeli soldiers when they confronted a demonstration near Ofer Prison, outside Ramallah. The boy, who was a passerby, was held at gunpoint throughout the incident.
“We are deeply concerned by the continued use of Palestinian children as human shields,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at DCI-Palestine. “Israeli forces continue to blatantly disregard international law, as well as their own domestic law. We demand that the Israeli authorities conduct a prompt, transparent and impartial investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable.”
The DCI-Palestine website has documented 20 other occurrences of Israelis forcing Palestinian children to act as human shields. The incidents are listed at the link.
Jerusalem Post, 972, and the Electronic Intifada have posted the video, since I wrote this. Also, Ma’an and some Gulf news sites. Some use a headline like, “Handcuffed teenager paraded by Israelis in front of demonstrators.”
On a related note, a friend of mine who lives in Finland, emailed me last week saying that he had struck up a conversation with a young Israeli on a bus who was visiting his Finnish girlfriend. After learning that my friend had been in U.S. Army Intelligence and asking him a few questions about his experience, the Israeli boasted that when his unit would raid Palestinian homes in the West Bank, they would always grab a young man off the street to act as a human shield.
see adalah compilation of documents on Israeli use of human shields. summary below.
http://adalah.org/newsletter/eng/jul09/Rana_Human_Shields_update_report_Englsih_july_2009.pdf
Gee, I thought that only A-rabs carry out this brand of crimes.
Well , that,s what the Zionists claim in the myriad of blogs and web sites populating the Internet.
Never a mention of the most moral army using it on a more than regular basis.
Does that make me an antisemite, then.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/israeli-mk-gets-a-taste-of-palestinian-humiliation-at-qalandiyah-checkpoint.premium-1.516933
“And he is scared,” wrote (Yesh Atid Member of Knesset) Kol, who has helped advance bills in the fields of children’s rights, violence against children, health and education. “I am scared. I am scared that we will continue living like this. And that fear scares me.”
4 years ago Gideon Levy wrote that Tel Aviv is an island of sanity in an insane country .
Compare and contrast
Rabbi Eric Yoffie
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/aipac-and-american-jews-be-proud-of-jewish-power.premium-1.507134
“But the real point is that the acquiring of Jewish influence is not a misfortune; it is a blessing and a cause for celebration. I applaud the fact that AIPAC—and a whole range of Jewish organizations—are respected political players on the Washington scene and that Jewish concerns—including, first and foremost, the welfare of Israel – are advanced by these groups. And while AIPAC has won the backing of many Americans, American Jews are instrumental in leading it, supporting it, and extending its influence. Again, this is a source of pride; let’s not suggest otherwise. ”
Ely Karmon
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/the-boston-marathon-bombing-israel-and-the-jews-1.516745
“Likewise, in terms of the Boston bombers, I would not exclude the possibility that if these radicals are global jihadists – in the sense that they are not interested especially in the nationalist cause of the Chechen fighters – they could also look for Israeli or Jewish targets, and not only in the United States”
How did Judaism end up at war with Islam ? Cui bono?
The youth was displayed, he was not used as a shield.
That much should be obvious to anyone with eyes not blinded by hate.