The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/13/07 Section: Commentary

There are certain international standards to which nations with organized armies are expected adhere to during wartime. Many of these standards deal with civilians and respecting their non-combatant status. Unfortunately, Israel seems to be disregarding some of these standards and using civilians as human shields during military operations against militants in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

In a recent incident, an Israeli patrol took an 11-year-old Palestinian girl from her home and forced her to enter a building where suspected militants were sheltered so that she would take the brunt of any potential ambush. Fortunately for her, there were no militants in the building and she went unharmed.

The same thing happened to a 15-year-old boy who was forced into a similar situation. A neighbor who tried to intervene, however, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, according to an al-Jazeera report. This is a despicable practice that must be stopped immediately.

The number of civilians killed while being used as human shields for the Israeli military is obviously much lower than the number of civilians killed by Palestinian terrorist groups, however, the level of accountability is far different. While groups like the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade embrace violence and hatred, Israel, as a responsible state, should act within international law and demonstrate concern for basic human rights.

That is the difference between terrorists and soldiers. Soldiers target threats to their nation's security, while terrorists just want to kill as many people as possible, regardless of who they are. Also, in being a soldier, one assumes certain risks of injury or even death while on the job. Because of this, it is the soldiers who should be bearing the brunt of the casualties, not the civilians, and especially not the children.

The Israeli army needs to realize this, and the sooner they do so, the better. Each time a Palestinian child is forced to be a human shield for the Israelis, another Palestinian is recruited into the ranks of Israeli-hating radicals like Hamas and the al-Aqsa brigades.

America also needs to step up and condemn these actions. The U.S. provides Israel with plenty of weaponry for their armed forces. No country that forces children into the line of fire should be given weapons by the United States. Also, if the United States were to ask Israel to stop using human shields, Israel would have to take notice to a demand made by its biggest and most vocal supporter.

Finally, Israel itself needs to take more responsibility for its armed forces. Israeli law already states that the use of human shields is unethical and illegal and it's time this law was followed.

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