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Israel court bans use of 'human shields'
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-06 15:16
Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday banned the military's practice of using
Palestinian civilians as "human shields" in arrest raids, saying it violates
international law.
The court ruled in response to petitions by human rights groups.
In August 2002, the court had issued a temporary injunction against the
practice. Human rights groups have said the military has repeatedly violated the
ban since then.
In Thursday's ruling, the court said the practice amounts to a "slide down
the slope toward a severe violation of international law."
Marwan Dallal, an attorney for the Israeli human rights group Adallah, said:
"It's an important decision, but we need to see if the military will abide by
it."
The human shield practice became an issue in the spring of 2002, when the
Israeli military carried out a major offensive in the West Bank, in response to
a series of suicide bombings by Palestinian militants. During arrest raids,
soldiers would sometimes force Palestinian civilians to approach the homes and
hideouts of wanted people. In some of these cases, the civilians were caught in
crossfire and were wounded or killed.
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