AC writes:
Amira Hass has an article on the front page of today's Haaretz.com that documents the Israeli army's use of Palestinians as unwilling "human shields" in raids inside the Occupied Territories.
Israel is the prime employer of Palestinians as human shields in its
military operations yet walks around with head held high accusing all
its foes of practicing the cowardly tactic. Who issues these
accusations? Israel's lawyers in the diaspora, Israeli
ambassadors, deputies, assistants, and spokespeople.
The proof?
Palestinian civilians voluntarily gathered en masse at the site —
typically located in a civilian, overpopulated neighborhood, where,
naturally, innocents would be located in any case — of a potential
Israeli assassination attempt or air strike. Instances such as this do
not involve a combatant forcing a noncombatant into the line of fire
for personal protection. These are instances of civilians offering the
only defense they have– themselves– as humanitarian shields in the hope
of preventing an act of mass violence.
Israel is the prime employer of Palestinians as human shields in its
military operations yet walks around with head held high accusing all
its foes of practicing the cowardly tactic. Who issues these
accusations? Israel's lawyers in the diaspora, Israeli
ambassadors, deputies, assistants, and spokespeople.
The proof?
Palestinian civilians voluntarily gathered en masse at the site —
typically located in a civilian, overpopulated neighborhood, where,
naturally, innocents would be located in any case — of a potential
Israeli assassination attempt or air strike. Instances such as this do
not involve a combatant forcing a noncombatant into the line of fire
for personal protection. These are instances of civilians offering the
only defense they have– themselves– as humanitarian shields in the hope
of preventing an act of mass violence.
If such acts are war crimes, and
such humanitarian shields are war criminals, then it follows that
Rachael Corrie, Tom Hurndall, the civilians lead by US veteran Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe who travelled to Iraq in 2003 as human shields before the country was plunged into perdition, the environmental activists who put their bodies on the line to protect forests, the Burmese civilians who formed a human chain to protect Burmese monks during the junta's crackdown, tank man of the Tiananmen Square protests, body guards
who are trained and ready to take bullets for their VIPs, and so on,
are criminals guilty of moral transgressions. But no rational person
would concede this, for it is absurd. It is
base casuistry, specious reasoning, and the Israelis and their lawyers
would see it as such were they not deluded and drowning in their own
hypocrisy.
such humanitarian shields are war criminals, then it follows that
Rachael Corrie, Tom Hurndall, the civilians lead by US veteran Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe who travelled to Iraq in 2003 as human shields before the country was plunged into perdition, the environmental activists who put their bodies on the line to protect forests, the Burmese civilians who formed a human chain to protect Burmese monks during the junta's crackdown, tank man of the Tiananmen Square protests, body guards
who are trained and ready to take bullets for their VIPs, and so on,
are criminals guilty of moral transgressions. But no rational person
would concede this, for it is absurd. It is
base casuistry, specious reasoning, and the Israelis and their lawyers
would see it as such were they not deluded and drowning in their own
hypocrisy.
Israel's hypocrisy would be nauseating were it not so hackneyed. In
fact, almost paradoxically, Israel embraces its hypocrisy, indeed,
defends it, for instance when Shaul Mofaz, then Defence Minister, personally appeared in court
to challenge an Israeli Supreme Court ruling banning the use of human
shields. The history and evidence of Israel's use of human shields is
well documented by several sources in the media and elsewhere,
including Yedioth Ahronoth, the BBC, the Guardian, Adalah, Amnesty International, and B'tselem.
And now to the principled Amira Hass:
The search here, as in the four other homes Daher was
forced to enter that day, was conducted in the same way: He entered
first, with the soldiers behind him. One soldier placed his rifle on
Daher's right shoulder, and pressed down on his left shoulder…. In the meantime, that same Monday morning, Shafiq
Daher, too, was continuing his mission of protecting Israel Defense
Forces soldiers. The second house he was made to check was also empty.
It belonged to the Al-Ajarmi family. Daher did not know that his two
oldest sons were accompanying other groups of soldiers, and were being
forced to smash holes in the walls of houses using sledgehammers. Nor
did he know that at that very moment, a soldier was jamming his rifle
into the back of his third son, standing at the door of Abed Rabbo's
home. Abed Rabbo himself, after being forced to smash a
hole in the wall that separated his roof from his neighbors' roof and
to accompany the soldiers inside, was made to enter several houses near
the mosque, break into a car and then go into the Zeydan house. He was
then taken to the Katari family's home, where he met Shafiq Daher and
told him that his son was all right. At about 2 P.M., a soldier took
him outside, pointed to the Abu Hatem house and said, according to Abed
Rabbo's testimony: "There were armed people in that house. We killed
them. Take off their clothes and take their weapons." At first he
refused and said that was not his job. "Obey orders," he was told…. Haaretz spoke with eight residents of I'zbet Abed
Rabbo neighborhood, who testified that they were made to accompany IDF
soldiers on missions involving breaking into and searching houses – not
to mention the family members who remained in the houses the army took
over, which were used as firing positions. The eight estimated that
about 20 local people were made to carry out "escort and protection"
missions of various kinds, as described here, between January 5 and
January 12. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit stated in response: "The
IDF is a moral army and its soldiers operate according to the spirit
and values of the IDF…." "Following an examination with the commanders of the
forces that were in the area in question, no evidence was found of the
cases mentioned. Anyone who tries to accuse the IDF of actions of this
kind creates a mistaken and misleading impression of the IDF and its
fighters, who operate according to moral criteria and international
law."
forced to enter that day, was conducted in the same way: He entered
first, with the soldiers behind him. One soldier placed his rifle on
Daher's right shoulder, and pressed down on his left shoulder…. In the meantime, that same Monday morning, Shafiq
Daher, too, was continuing his mission of protecting Israel Defense
Forces soldiers. The second house he was made to check was also empty.
It belonged to the Al-Ajarmi family. Daher did not know that his two
oldest sons were accompanying other groups of soldiers, and were being
forced to smash holes in the walls of houses using sledgehammers. Nor
did he know that at that very moment, a soldier was jamming his rifle
into the back of his third son, standing at the door of Abed Rabbo's
home. Abed Rabbo himself, after being forced to smash a
hole in the wall that separated his roof from his neighbors' roof and
to accompany the soldiers inside, was made to enter several houses near
the mosque, break into a car and then go into the Zeydan house. He was
then taken to the Katari family's home, where he met Shafiq Daher and
told him that his son was all right. At about 2 P.M., a soldier took
him outside, pointed to the Abu Hatem house and said, according to Abed
Rabbo's testimony: "There were armed people in that house. We killed
them. Take off their clothes and take their weapons." At first he
refused and said that was not his job. "Obey orders," he was told…. Haaretz spoke with eight residents of I'zbet Abed
Rabbo neighborhood, who testified that they were made to accompany IDF
soldiers on missions involving breaking into and searching houses – not
to mention the family members who remained in the houses the army took
over, which were used as firing positions. The eight estimated that
about 20 local people were made to carry out "escort and protection"
missions of various kinds, as described here, between January 5 and
January 12. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit stated in response: "The
IDF is a moral army and its soldiers operate according to the spirit
and values of the IDF…." "Following an examination with the commanders of the
forces that were in the area in question, no evidence was found of the
cases mentioned. Anyone who tries to accuse the IDF of actions of this
kind creates a mistaken and misleading impression of the IDF and its
fighters, who operate according to moral criteria and international
law."
The IDF admits nothing because it is a moral army and can do no wrong to the wretched Palestinians.
