Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Mai più scudi umani palestinesi

Con una (tardiva) decisione, l'Alta Corte israeliana ha finalmente bandito
questa barbara tecnica bellica. Shalom.
Namib
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6 October 2005: Court forbids use of human shields
On 6 October 2005, the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that it is
illegal for Israeli forces to use Palestinian civilians in military
operations. The decision was handed down in response to a petition filed in
2002 by a coalition of human rights organizations.
IDF soldiers have used Palestinian civilians as human shields since the
beginning of the current intifada. This practice is most common during IDF
operations carried out in Palestinian population centers, as occurred in
Operation Defensive Shield. Soldiers pick a civilian at random and force him
to protect them by doing dangerous tasks. For example, soldiers have ordered
Palestinians to:
  a.. enter buildings to check if they are booby-trapped, or to remove the
occupants
  b.. remove suspicious objects from roads
  c.. stand inside houses where soldiers have set up military positions, so
that Palestinians will not fire at the soldiers
  d.. walk in front of soldiers to shield them from gunfire, while the
soldiers hold a gun behind their backs and sometimes fire over their
shoulders.
On 5 May 5 2002, seven human rights organizations petitioned the High Court
against the use of Palestinians as human shields. In response, the state
informed the Court that "the IDF decided to issue an order to its forces
forbidding all use of civilians as human shields to protect against shooting
or attacks by Palestinians." However, the state added, the IDF would
continue to have Palestinian civilians assist soldiers, by means of the
"neighbor procedure." According to this procedure, "Palestinian civilians
assist soldiers in entering the houses of other Palestinians during the
course of military operations." The state claimed that such "assistance" did
not constitute using the civilians as human shields, though "the IDF
specified that even this use of civilians is forbidden in cases in which the
commander in the field believes that there may be physical danger to the
civilian."
Following a subsequent petition filed by the human rights organizations, the
Court issued a temporary injunction forbidding the use of the "neighbor
procedure." Cases documented by B'Tselem and other human rights
organizations show that the IDF violated the Court's order. For example, in
August 2002, Nidal Abu Mukhsan was killed by Palestinian gunfire while IDF
soldiers used him as a human shield.
In July 2003, the High Court narrowed the temporary injunction, and allowed
the use of a new procedure - the "prior warning procedure" - in which
Palestinian civilians may be used to assist soldiers if they volunteer. The
Court has now ruled that the IDF's use of the "prior warning procedure" is
illegal, as is all use of Palestinian civilians in military operations.
The true test of this ruling will be in its implementation. It should not be
forgotten that the army violated the Court's interim injunction. The IDF
must now ensure that all soldiers in the field are informed that it is
absolutely forbidden to use civilians to perform military tasks.

 6 October 2005: Court forbids use of human shields
Dimenticavo la fonte:
http://www.btselem.org/English/Human_Shields/20051006_HCJ_Ruling.asp
Bye by Namib

 questa barbara tecnica bellica. Shalom.
E l'esercito "piu' umano del mondo" ha protestato, definendo la tecnica
necessaria.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8431605A-2F44-4282-8037-E8B53A529EB9
.
 Israel army to fight human shield ban
by Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank
Wednesday 12 October 2005 7:29 AM GMT
The use of human shields is all too common in the West Bank
The Israeli army has signalled its intention to keep using Palestinian
civilians as human shields in operations aimed at assassinating,
arresting or kidnapping Palestinian political and resistance activists.
The Israeli High Court issued a ruling earlier this week barring the
army from using Palestinian civilians as human shields, a practice used
heavily in the West Bank, particularly since the outbreak of the
Palestinian intifada or uprising in 2000.
On Tuesday, Israeli military sources said the army would press the High
Court to reconsider the ruling on the ground that it would complicate
"army activities" in the West Bank.
The army has sought to downplay the gravity of the "human shield
practice", describing it as a "generally innocuous early warning
procedure".
The Israeli press has quoted Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying
that he will personally seek to convince the justices of the High Court
of the correctness of the army's view in this regard.
Ugly practice
The occupation army has further argued that the practice actually saves
(Jewish) lives and that banning it entirely would inflict more
casualties on the Palestinians themselves as the army would be forced
to bombard and destroy entire buildings where "wanted persons" are
barricaded.
Shaul Mofaz will seek to convince
the High Court on human shields
Palestinian and foreign human-rights groups operating in the West Bank
have dismissed the army's contention as "a desperate attempt to put a
good face on an ugly practice".
"They want to kill us and tell the world that they are dong it for our
own interests," said a spokesperson of the Palestinian Centre of Human
Rights in Ram Allah.
The spokesman said scores of innocent Palestinians were killed as they
were being used as human shields during Israeli army operations in the
West Bank.
UN criticism
Meanwhile, a top UN human rights official has charged Israel with
deliberately impeding the work of human-rights activities in the
occupied Palestinian territories.
A UN official said Israel impedes
the work of rights activists
The official, Hina Jilani, who has ended a visit to Palestine and
Israel, said Israel was making the work of human-rights activists in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip as hard as possible.
"In stark contrast to the relative openness that the government allows
for NGOs based in Israel, the human-rights defenders in the occupied
Palestinian territories operate under conditions that are absolutely
incompatible with the international norms and standards of human
rights."
Jilani described Israeli actions as "responsible for creating an
environment that is totally non-conducive for human rights defenders to
conduct their work with facility and safety".
Severely threatened
Jilani said that while she was aware of Israeli security concerns, she
was also fully conscious of the vulnerability of the Palestinian
population which is more severely threatened and eroded by the
practices of the Israeli occupation.
"They want to kill us and tell the world that they are dong it for our
own interests"
Palestinian Centre of Human Rights spokesperson
Israel rejected Jilani's report, which will be submitted to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan later this month.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said Israel
was doing everything to facilitate the work of human-rights activists
in Israel proper as well as the occupied territories.
"We pride ourselves on the fact that Israel's human-rights safeguard
are of the highest international standards," he said.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights
Watch and Israel's own B'tselem have issued damning reports indicting
Israel for killing and maiming hundreds of innocent Palestinians and
destroying thousands of innocent people's homes over the past five
years.
Aljazeera
By Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8431605A-2F44-4282-8037-E8B53A529EB9.htm

tecnica necessaria.
E se la fonte di questa *ASSOLUTA VERITA'* e' Al-Jazeera allora come
dubitare di questo!!! :)
*ROTFL*
-Stefano