Children in Gaza Are Being Used as Human Barricades by Israeli Forces
Let's Get the Tea on Israel's Despicable Tactics
By Yung JC (Not a Corporate Stooge)
So, Israel's been claiming that those unfortunate deaths in Gaza are all Hamas' fault because they're using human shields, right? Well, hold onto your butts, because a local human rights group has some juicy details about three kids in the West Bank who were used as human shields during an IDF raid on a refugee camp.
DCIP, the Palestinian branch of Defense for Children International, interviewed three lads from Tulkarem refugee camp after an IDF attack on May 6. Karam, 13, Mohammad, 12, and Ibrahim, 14, all shared harrowing tales of being forced to walk ahead of the IDF soldiers as they raided residential buildings.
These soldiers weren't exactly gentlemanly, either. They put guns on the shoulders of two of the boys before firing, and none of them were spared a good ol' fashioned beating.
On the rough end of this ordeal, Karam explained that about 30 IDF soldiers stormed his family's apartment with a terrifyingly large military dog during the attack on Tulkarem. The soldiers separated Karam's family and made him guide them through the apartment, a task that resulted in one of the soldiers firing two shots from a gun held on Karam's shoulder.
Mohammad wasn't treated much better. The IDF ignored his mother's pleas while they forced his family out of the apartment and kept Mohammad with them. "I started crying and shaking in fear because I didn't know what they were gonna do to me," Mohammad revealed. He was then ordered to knock on apartment doors and ask residents to come out while the soldiers hid and ready-upped for a raid.
Ibrahim was even worse off. After interrogating him and beating him up, the soldiers made him walk ahead of them and scout for any suspicious individuals. They would enter buildings only after Ibrahim confirmed they were empty.
To put it bluntly, this is some straight-up war-crime shit. But, hey, what did you expect from a government that treats every Palestinian child as if they're disposable?
"Israeli treatment of Palestinian children is genocidal," noted Al Jazeera journalist Sana Saeed.
Writing for Jacobin, Ben Burgis pointed out that accusations of Hamas utilizing human shields are often misleading. More often, it amounts to Hamas fighters being in areas with civilians. But this is not to say the IDF is innocent. They genuinely do engage in human shielding, like when they force Palestinian civilians to approach suspicious houses because they're less likely to get shot.
Ayed Abu Eqtaish, the accountability program director at DCIP, slammed the IDF for these inhumane practices. "International law prevents the use of children as human shields by armed forces or armed groups. Israeli forces intentionally putting a child in danger to protect themselves is a war crime."
Published by Unfiltered News, 05.14.2024, under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Unported license.
[1] Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/north-africa/israel/palestinian-authority/israel-military-use-palestinian-civilians-human-shields[2] Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2012/07/israel-report-soldiers-used-palestinian-civilians-as-human-shields/[3] B'Tselem: https://www.btselem.org/human_rights_defenders_in_the_occupied_palestinian_territory/20161115_the_use_of_palestinians_as_human_shields_two_families_share_their_stories[4] Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2014/11/gaza-israel-geneva-inquiry-hears-war-crimes-allegations-201411126019482996.html
War-and-conflicts and politics intertwine as the International community voices concerns over Israel's alleged use of children as human shields in its military operations, an accusation that has long been a subject of general news and crime-and-justice debates. The latest incidents involve three boys from Tulkarem refugee camp who were forced to guide Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers during a raid, an act that Defense for Children International (DCIP) has deemed a war crime.
