Reports from different sources have shed light on the shocking claims that Israeli troops abduct Palestinian civilians, dress them up in military uniforms, and hide behind them as human shields in Gaza’s underground tunnels. Such civilian shields are not sent ahead of Israeli troops but are used to deter rocket attacks for which they become human, the first such warping of this old notion of human shielding.

Though manipulation of human shields is not a new concept in war, the tactic employed by the Israeli military is a cause of concern. The human shields during other wars were essentially civilians whose vulnerability was acknowledged so that no attacks may occur. The Israeli army, however, turns them into a form of bait by dressing Palestinian civilians in Israeli military uniforms. Instead of protecting the soldiers, these civilians are left there to draw enemy fire so that the forces of Israel have a point from which to start to find the Palestinian fighters and launch an attack on them. Such a strategy strips those civilians of their non-combat status, turning them into targets rather than shields.

This fact turns the contemporary treatment of Palestinians as second-class citizens to repeat the racialized governance that has characterized Israel’s policies in the region for decades. Israeli President Isaac Herzog chillingly declared that “there are no innocent civilians” in Gaza, a sentiment indicative of broader and disturbing apathy or support within the Israeli public for an unprecedented scale of civilian destruction and loss of life throughout the Strip. This same mindset that is ubiquitous in the Israeli military and political elite has normalized violations of international law and sets a frightening precedent.

The Israeli military commits two war crimes in one act: the use of human shields, which is an unlawful use of human shields, and betrayal, where they force civilians to wear enemy uniforms during combat operations. Such glaring disregard for legal and moral standards represents a tendency by the government to push the envelope as far as possible without much fear of international accountability so as not to lose their occupations and military dominance.

However, despite the mounting accumulation of facts, it is not likely that Israel will face any severe reprisals for this. As earlier critics such as Antony Anghie and the more recent Noura Erekat keenly noted, the international legal order has consistently failed to protect colonized peoples. Racism and imperialism are entrenched in the global legal order, and one could see such in the selective approach made by the International Criminal Court in making indictments.

This makes it no surprise that Israel continues to act with impunity. The world views the way Palestinians are dehumanized and used as pawns in a geopolitical game with little hope for justice or international protection. The horrific truth about this new human shield tactic has opened up systemic racism and violations of law in the ongoing conflict and questions the future direction of warfare with the moral costs of political inertia.

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