From Occupied Palestine

Israeli army continues use of Palestinians as human shields
JON ELMER
The NewStandard, 7 September 2005

Ramallah -- In direct violation of both domestic and international law, the Israeli military continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields to protect soldiers during military operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a report in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz.

Last week, heavily armed Israeli forces broke into the home of Mahmoud Rajabi in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. According to witnesses, the soldiers used three brothers as human shields during the 48-hour operation, in which the home was evacuated of the remaining thirteen family members and used as a military post.

The commander of the Israeli army (IDF) unit involved told Ha'aretz that using Palestinians to protect armed soldiers was a normal procedure implemented to protect his soldiers