Israel has taken the use of human shields to a new level of criminality

The use of Palestinian civilians as “human bait” in Gaza shows the extent to which Israel’s warlike practices are tinged with racism.

The use of human shields in war is not a new phenomenon. For centuries, armies have forced civilians to serve as human shields. Yet despite this long, dubious history, Israel has managed to introduce a new form of cover in Gaza that appears unprecedented in the history of warfare.

This practice was first exposed by Al Jazeera but later Haaretz published a comprehensive article on how Israeli troops kidnapped Palestinian civilians, dressed them in military uniforms, attached cameras to their bodies and sent them into underground tunnels as well as buildings to serve as a shield for Israeli troops.

“It is difficult to recognize them. They usually wear Israeli army uniforms, many of them are in their twenties, and they are always in the company of Israeli soldiers of different ranks,” the Haaretz article notes. But on closer inspection, “you see that most of them are wearing sneakers, not army boots. Their hands are handcuffed behind their backs and their faces are full of fear.”

In the past, Israeli troops have used robots and trained dogs with cameras on their collars, as well as Palestinian civilians to act as shields. However, the Palestinians used as shields always wore civilian clothes and could therefore be identified as such. By dressing Palestinian civilians in military clothing and sending them into the tunnels, the Israeli army has, in effect, modified the very logic of the human shield.

Indeed, the human shield has always been based on the recognition that the person protecting a military target is a vulnerable civilian (or prisoner of war). This identification is meant to deter the belligerent from attacking the target, because the vulnerability of the human shield ostensibly invokes moral restrictions on the use of lethal violence. It is precisely the recognition of vulnerability that is the key to the supposed effectiveness of the human shield and allows deterrence to have a chance of working.

By dressing Palestinian civilians in Israeli military uniforms and passing them off as combatants, the Israeli army deliberately conceals their vulnerability. It deploys them as shields not to deter Palestinian fighters from hitting Israeli soldiers, but rather to attract their fire and thus reveal their position, allowing Israeli troops to launch a counterattack. and kill the fighters. As soon as these human shields, masked as soldiers, are sent into the tunnels, they go from being vulnerable civilians to being cannon fodder.

The fact that the Israeli military considers Palestinian civilians expendable is not surprising given the racial form of colonial governance to which they have been subjected for decades. This deep-rooted racism explains the ease with which Israeli President Isaac Herzog publicly asserted that there were “no innocent civilians” in the Gaza Strip, as well as the predominant indifference of the Israeli Jewish public. towards the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians who were killed.

Indeed, Israelis were not shocked when their political leaders repeatedly called for “wiping out” Gaza, “flattening” it and making it “the city of Dresden.” They have supported or remained apathetic in the damage and destruction of 60% of all civilian structures and sites in Gaza.

In this context, dressing Palestinian civilians in military clothing and sending them into tunnels will likely be seen by most Israeli soldiers – and by much of the Israeli public – as a simple detail.

Nonetheless, this new practice of the human shield sheds important light on how racism manifests itself on the battlefield. It reveals that the army took to heart and put into practice Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s racist directives that “we are fighting human animals,” exposing how the Israeli military views Palestinians either. as bait or as prey. Like hunters who use raw meat to attract animals to capture or kill, Israeli troops use Palestinian civilians as if they were naked flesh whose function is to attract their animals. prey.

Racism is also at the root of Israel’s disregard for international law. By randomly detaining Palestinian civilians – including teenagers and elderly people – and then dressing them in military clothing before forcing them to march in front of soldiers, Israeli troops are not only violating the system legal banning the use of human shields, but also the perfidy clause, which prohibits warring parties from using “the military uniforms of the opposing parties when engaging in attacks or in order to cover, favor, protect or obstruct military operations. Two war crimes in one action.

The ugly truth, however, is that no matter how much evidence emerges about Israel’s use of this new human shield practice or any other violation of international law, the likelihood that it will change actions on the ground is weak.

The hope that international law would protect the Palestinian people and provide them with justice has always been misplaced, because colonial racism – as several critical jurists, from Antony Anghie to Noura Erekat have pointed out – influences not only Israel’s actions , but also the international legal order, including how the International Criminal Court (ICC) dispenses justice. To get a glimpse of this racism, just browse the International Criminal Court’s website and see who it has agreed to indict.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.

Neve Gordon is Professor of International Law at Queen Mary University of London.

Translation: JB for the
Source: Al Jazeera