Israelâs Supreme Court on Thursday banned the army from using Palestinian civilians as âhuman shieldsâ during arrest operations aimed at flushing out wanted militants from hiding places. The ruling that the practice violates international law followed petitions filed three years ago by two human rights groups in Israel. The Supreme Court, the countryâs highest court, had already issued a temporary injunction against the practice in August 2002, after the petition was filed in May of that year.
Israeli soldiers, however, have continued to use Palestinian civilians as decoys by forcing them, often at gunpoint, to approach homes or places where wanted militants are hiding so that they can be extracted and arrested. Chief Justice Aharon Barak wrote that it was impossible to determine whether a warning for a wanted militant to come out may endanger the life of the Palestinian civilian âhuman shieldâ. âIn light of the inequality which exists between the apprehending force and the local resident, the civilian cannot be expected to resist the request to pass on an alert,â he was quoted as writing in the ruling. |