The Israeli army suspended a mission commander on Friday as evidence mounted of the military's illegal use of Palestinian civilians to shield troops in West Bank raids. Troops under the soldier's command ordered two Palestinian youths to stand in front of their jeep to protect it from local stone-throwers _ highlighting one of the many human rights issues the army is dealing with as it enters its fifth decade of military occupation in the West Bank, according to AP. The incident in Nablus on Wednesday, captured on video, is the latest piece of evidence suggesting the army continues to use human shields in violation of international law and a 2005 Israeli Supreme Court ruling banning the practice. The issue came under renewed scrutiny after Associated Press Television News footage in late February showed a Palestinian man forced to lead heavily armed soldiers in house-to-house searches for militants. The latest case came to light when a 60-second clip, filmed by a foreign peace activist, was posted late Thursday on the Yediot Ahronot newspaper Web site. Footage showed two Palestinian youths leaning against the front of a military jeep with their arms crossed, while a soldier sat inside the passenger's seat. The activist is heard shouting, «You can't use them as human shields, it is against the law.» «We are not using them as a human shield,» the soldier replied. «They are standing in front of your jeep. How is that not a human shield? You are using them to protect you from stones,» the activist retorted. «We asked them to speak to their friends and ask them to stop throwing stones at us,» the soldier said. Shortly after the video was posted, the military announced the mission commander had been relieved of operational duty. «Following the incident in which IDF soldiers apparently made prohibited use of civilians, Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh ordered the suspension of the commander of the mission from all operational activity, in addition to the ongoing investigation into the matter,» the military said in a statement. A military police investigation also has been ordered, the statement said. Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti denounced the suspension as window-dressing. «They are treating it as an isolated incident,» he said. «The problem is systematic and...they (troops) continued the practice despite the (Supreme) Court order,» he said. For years, Palestinians had accused the army of using human shields, but proof was elusive. But evidence has been accumulating since the APTN footage was aired in February. Others, including an 11-year-old girl, have been emboldened to come forward with similar accounts of being compelled to walk ahead of soldiers looking for militants. These cases have prompted a rare criminal investigation into whether troops broke the law as critics contend. The multiple incidents underscore the dilemma the army faces after 40 years of occupation in the West Bank. While it says its operations are needed to protect Israel against Palestinian militants, it has been forced to use increasingly tough measures during the last six years of fighting. The landmark Israeli Supreme Court ruling banning the use of human shields was prompted by an outcry over the army's widespread practice, in a 2002 West Bank offensive, of forcing Palestinian civilians to approach fugitives' hideouts. The army, which launched the offensive following a rash of suicide bombings, defended the practice at the time, saying it kept civilians out of harm's way and encouraged militants to surrender peacefully. And it says it never allowed troops to use civilians for cover during battles. But in August 2002, a 19-year-old Palestinian student was killed in a gunfight that erupted after he was forced to knock on the door of a building where a fugitive was hiding. In addition to the Israeli proscription, international law, including the Geneva Conventions and Hague regulations, prohibits placing civilians in harm's way during military operations. Human rights groups say the use of civilians in military operations has dropped sharply since the Supreme Court banned it outright, but has not disappeared. -- SPA
