Star Ledger Reader Forum

October 14, 2005

By Maha M. Kabbash

Against human shields

I was thrilled to hear that Israel's Supreme Court has banned the Israeli military's practice of using Palestinian civilians as "human shields" in arrest raids.

This is a horrible practice in which the army forces an unarmed Palestinian civilian, usually a young male, to enter a Palestinian home that the army is raiding, so that the civilian's body suffers the physical brunt of any gunfire. The civilian is the human equivalent of a bulletproof vest that is not bulletproof.

Shame on the Israeli government for engaging in a practice that treats human beings like dogs. And good for the Israeli Supreme Court for attempting to put an end to it. The world should stay tuned to make sure the Israeli army abides by the court's ruling.