Systematic Israeli policy of using Palestinian as human shields

Human Shields: The use of civilians to protect combatants or military objectives from attack. This practice is explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law (IHL) as per the Fourth Geneva Convention.

TheUse of Human Shields in Israeli Military Practices, seems depend on whether the IDF is in Gaza or the West Bank, the methods used differ.

A. The “Mosquito Protocol” (2024)

A term reportedly used by the IDF to describe the practice of sending Palestinian detainees into potentially dangerous situations to safeguard soldiers during military operations. Palestinian civilians are arrested, detained and allegedly used as “human shields” by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to search tunnels and inspect potentially booby-trapped locations during the Israeli ground invasion in Gaza. Civilians referred to as "shawishim," are sent into high-risk areas before IDF soldiers. These Operations are conducted in various parts of the Gaza Strip, including Rafah. IDF soldiers arrest Palestinian civilians, some as young as 16 and others elderly, are dressed in IDF uniforms, bound, and equipped with cameras to explore dangerous areas.

Recent investigations and developments (2024)

• July and February 2024: Reports emerged of Palestinians being coerced into entering booby-trapped buildings or tunnels in Gaza.

• August 13, 2024 (Haaretz): Allegations from soldiers, commanders, and Palestinian detainees revealed that civilians, including minors, were used to inspect hazardous tunnels and buildings.Israeli leftist newspaper "Haaretz" Investigation IDF Allegedly Uses Palestinian Civilians as Human Shields in Gaza Operations by the Reporters: Yaniv Kubovich, Michael Hauser Tov on August 13, 2024.

• October 21, 2024 (The Guardian): Whistleblower testimonies and reports highlighted systematic practices in Gaza, including tying civilians, forcing them to wear IDF uniforms, and using them for reconnaissance or shield tasks.

• October 24, 2024 (CNN): The "Mosquito Protocol" involved forcing Palestinian detainees to enter danger zones. Reports included physical abuse and coercion, with some detainees subjected to beatings or threats.

Key Practices and Allegations:

IDF soldiers abduct Palestinians included minors, elderly individuals, and detainees, in order to force them to:

• Enter buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or in Gaza Strip, including Rafah, Khan Younis, Shuja’iya, and Jabaliya.
• Perform reconnaissance and operate cameras.
• Serve as shields during gunfire or door-knocking procedures. Soldiers and officers allegedly received orders to implement these tactics, with some expressing moral opposition. Civilians were often handcuffed, blindfolded, or dressed in IDF uniforms. IDF units use coercion involved physical abuse, threats, and psychological pressure. Some soldiers expressed moral opposition, describing the practice as mimicking tactics of organizations like Hamas.

The Military Justifications is the safety of Soldiers (Commanders prioritized minimizing risks to Israeli troops, even at the expense of Palestinian civilians) and the Operational Efficiency (Familiarity with local areas made Palestinian civilians useful for identifying threats or navigating buildings).

Evidence Supporting Allegations

Palestinian detainees and IDF soldiers provided consistent accounts of coercion and abuse. Photographs and Video Footage showed bound civilians being guarded by IDF soldiers. Reports of civilians dressed in military gear with attached cameras for reconnaissance.

Human Rights Documentation: Organizations like Breaking the Silence, Middle East Human Right Monitor,... highlighted the systematic nature of these practices. The investigation includes first-hand soldier testimonies, video footage aired on Al Jazeera, and reports of systematic practices. Despite the IDF’s official denial, which states that such actions are against military regulations, these findings raise significant concerns about violations of humanitarian and legal standards.

Soldier Concerns:

Testimonies from DIF soldiers and commanders indicate ethical or legal discomfort with the practice, which some soldiers equate to endangering civilians for military advantage. They confronted their commanders about International laws but the answer was the following :

"It is better that they explode and not the IDF soldiers" because their live is less important than IDF lives. In one reported case, a 16 y/O Palestinian was kept for several days, given combat rations, and used as humand shield by soldiers to explore a house. He was later released near a checkpoint confirming for the IDF whitnesses htat he was not involved in terrorism but just a civilian.

Leadership Knowledge and Military Responses:

Allegations that senior officials, including IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi and Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, were aware of the practice.

US Reaction:

U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel expressed outrage, stating that the IDF’s actions in the footage “do not reflect IDF values” and are under investigation.

Invesigation of Breaking the silence:

In an interview for Ha-Makom website, Nadav Weiman, general director of Breaking the Silence, confirmed that the IDF isn't just using Palestinians as human shields, but as human baits. They're forced to wear IDF uniforms to draw fire to themselves.

Among the evidence are those on abuses of Palestinian prisoners by IDF soldiers in the Yemen field and the conditions under which detainees are held, the burning and bombing of buildings without security justification, the practice of destruction in retaliation, and the use of Palestinians as human shields.

If in previous operations the organization issued a file with all the evidence, in the war they decided to change strategy. When we realized that it would be much bigger than ever, that there are so many forces in different places in the Strip, in different ways, with different tactics, then you need a lot of witnesses for each unit, because otherwise you can't say anything inclusive. So when we had specific testimonies with important stories we took them out".

Among these we can name the evidence on IDF soldiers abuses In the Yemen field camp And the inhumane conditions That Gazan detainees are held in, burning and bombing buildings without security or legal justification, a practice of destruction in revenge as well as the use of Palestinians as human shields, known as the mosquito procedure, as published on CNN in an interview with a soldier who testified to this in Breaking the Silence. Under the Mosquito procedure IDF soldiers force Gazan civilians, while being coerced and sometimes blindfolded, to walk in front of the force at the entrance to buildings, tunnels and movement through the area. In the event that the buildings are trapped, Gazans will die and not soldiers. According to the soldier, one of his commanders told him: "'It is better for the Palestinian to explode and not our soldiers".

When did you learn about the use of Palestinians as human shields?

"In December 2023. We thought it was a crazy officer doing whatever he wanted, I couldn't believe it. Then came another one and another and another one. We turned Liniv Kovovich from Israel, who discovered that the Chief of Staff was sitting in a meeting where human shields were spoken, so apparently the order comes from there. In response to the article, the IDF spokesman claimed that the practice was against the procedures. Several months later, an IDF spokesman confirmed the The case revealed in the hottest placeIn which a commander in the Nahal shot dead a Palestinian who was used as a human shield for the soldiers in Rafah.This time without reservation, even minimally, from the very use of the practice. Weiman says that some of the soldiers testified to arguments with officers in the company about the procedure. Reserves grew up on the fact that it was conducted that was banned by the High Court, that Yair Golan has a commanding comment about it.'."

"-Mosquito procedure a hundred times worse

-Yes. Because they put IDF uniforms on them and make them a target. Some of the witnesses said they were given uniforms so the IDF did not shoot them, " As in the case of the commander in Nahal who shot a Palestinian In Rafah, and some say that the uniforms are designed to attract fire. When the Palestinian enters the tunnel, Hamas will shoot at him".

-Do you have any idea how many of these died?

-'I guess that's a number we'll never know.'.

source

B. Neighbor Procedure/Early Warning Procedure:

A specific tactic used by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), primarily in the West Bank, where civilians (often neighbors) are asked to communicate with suspects or perform tasks such as clearing buildings.

Israeli Military Justifications

• The military argues that the practice reduces casualties on both sides by avoiding direct confrontations.

• The IDF pretend civilians are not coerced and face little to no danger, as evidenced by the provision of protective measures like bulletproof vests.

• Local civilians are believed to be better suited to communicate with suspects and navigate complex environments.

• The presence of civilians supposedly reduces hostility from suspects, facilitating safer surrenders.

Criticism and Legal Challenges

The practice breaches the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits forcing protected persons to assist an occupying force. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit denies approving civilian use in dangerous military operations and claims the reported incidents are under review. The continuation of the practice after HCJ rulings indicates weak enforcement of judicial decisions within the military. Israel faces backlash for the practice, which undermines its international standing and raises questions about its adherence to IHL. Despite legal bans, reports of continued use highlight a lack of accountability within the IDF. Few soldiers are prosecuted, and penalties remain minimal.

Disproportionate Risks & ethical concern:

The procedure shifts the burden of danger from soldiers to civilians, violating the principle of proportionality under IHL.The procedure exposes civilians to potential harm, even when “voluntary,” and undermines the principle of distinction in IHL.Both victims and soldiers involved in these operations experience long-term trauma. The use of human shields continues to be condemned by international organizations like Btselem and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Documented Cases and Patterns

Testimonies reveal that even minors and women were coerced or threatened into participating.Despite the 2005 HCJ ruling, instances of human shield usage have been reported in subsequent military operations. Case of Bilal (Testimony): A child was sent into a house to check for a suspect, showcasing the direct harm and coercion involved. Consequences

Chronology of events

Since October 2023

Gaza Israeli soldier Yosef Scewekeh from the steel cat combat engineering corps showing how they use Palestinian civilians as human shields in Gaza

10 Nov 2023: A video shows Israeli soldiers using a blindfolded Palestinian detainee as a human shield in the West Bank. He is seated on the ground w/ vehicles behind him using him as a shield as an Israeli soldier aim his rifle towards Palestinians

May 2024: On May 24, Lt. Amit Nechmya, the Latak platoon commander is seen ordering an elderly man with a partially covered face to move to an unknown location in Rafah. The video was recorded by Sgt Camisa.

On October 2024 “Really a nice ending”,This is what Mujinda wrote, commenting on the kidnapping of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Before October 2023

May 2023: Israeli soldiers forced Nidal, 9, Karam, 11, Ahmad, 2 & Mohammad, 2 to stand in front of Israeli military vehicles while Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters, stun grenades & live ammunition at Palestinians confronting the soldiers in Ramallah dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces…

Israeli forces have used at least five Palestinian children as human shields in the first part of 2023, according to documentation collected by DCIP.

March 2023: Anas al-Khalili from Nablus. “I was used as a human shield by Israeli forces. They handcuffed me & started shooting from behind me. While I was handcuffed, they pushed me down the stairs, they stayed behind me & were shooting at the men…

9 March 2018 Israel soldiers detained ‘Abd a-Rahim Gheith in Jericho & ordered him out the car, handcuffed him & made him sit on the road for 2hrs. Gheith was then used as a human shied, & was hit by stones thrown at the soldiers. Video evidence:

2014 (Operation Protective Edge): Documented cases of Palestinians being used as human shields despite the HCJ's ban.

July-Aug 2014: “Israeli soldiers handcuffed & blindfolded us...they made us stand by the windows as protective shields for them. There was gunfire all around us. They made us stand by the window for 9 hours. We were their shields.” - Ramadan Qudeih

July-August 2014: “They refused to let us out….I asked for am ambulance for my sister, who fainted, they refused. They held us to protect themselves. -Nazeeha al-Najjar (7:30)

July-August 2014: "I was taken prisoner, handcuffed & walked almost at gun point…he made me walk forward and he was protected by me…if any shots had been fired, they’d have hit me. He [the israeli soldier] was right behind me.

2010-2013: "The Committee on the Rights of the Child express deep concern about the continuous use of Palestinian children as human shields and informants. 14 such cases have been reported from January 2010 to 31 March 2013 only."

2008-2009: The Goldstone Report documented many cases in which the Israeli military used Palestinians as human shields in the 2008-9 war on Gaza, including Majdi Abd Rabbo, Abbas Ahmad Ibrahim Halawa, Mahmoud Abd Rabbo al-Ajrami and others. See p. 218-230 documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/…

February 2009: “the officers said I wouldn’t see my family unless i did it…he pushed me w/his weapon, held me by my neck & said go." -Magdy Rabbo. [He had to go back & forth between Israeli soldiers & hamas fighers]. The IDF used Magdy as a human shied.

February 2009: “The Israelis would send us ahead...they made me dig holes in the wall & in the houses first to check in case they were booby trapped. We were put in front so in case there was gunfire, we would be [hit].” -Rabbi Abde Rabi, Gaza resident.

2008-2009 (Operation Cast Lead) & 2014 (Operation Protective Edge): Documented cases of Palestinians being used as human shields despite the HCJ's ban.

2005: The HCJ fully outlaws the use of civilians in military operations, ruling it as a violation of IHL. Despite this, incidents of the practice persist.

November 2002: The HCJ temporarily bans the use of civilians as human shields but allows the procedure under specific conditions, such as explicit consent and minimal danger.

In 2002, 2002: During the Second Intifada, the "Neighbor Procedure" results in the death of a Palestinian civilian, leading to petitions by human rights organizations to Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ). IDF forced Palestinians to walk through buildings suspected to be booby-trapped. it ordered them to enter certain areas before the combat forces...the army used residents as a “human shield” to serve as a shield against attack on those forces (p.230) documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/…

May 2001: the Israeli army took over Hussein Aladi’s home, established an Israeli military base on the roof. For 3 months, they fired every day from there. The army insisted family always remain in the house, to protect the Israeli soldiers in it.

1967: Start of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The use of Palestinian civilians as human shields during military operations becomes an observed practice.

Sources : ICRC

2023 Jcobin

jpost

Breaking the silence

B'tselem

Cases documented by Btselem :

2024 : 24/10 “Mosquito Protocol” :

The Guardian

Haaretz, on Augustus 13, 2024 :