A Using civilians as human shields is strictly forbidden under Israeli law, in line with the Geneva Convention's proscription of the procedure, and although the IDF has for years faced accusations of continuing the practice, this is the first case of its kind to result in a conviction. While human rights campaigners welcomed the court's verdict, there were suspicions from both supporters and critics of the accused that the soldiers had been made fall guys to placate an outside world still furious at Isarel's handling of the Cast Lead hostilities in December-January 2008-09. Despite over 150 internal investigations being opened by the Israeli military into alleged misconduct by its troops during the assault on Gaza, only 36 have been referred for criminal prosecutions, and – until yesterday's verdict – only one conviction has been handed down by the courts, in the case of a soldier accused of petty theft. At the same time, comrades of the two accused soldiers sported T-shirts outside the trial declaring "We are all victims of Goldstone", in reference to the damning UN-sponsored Goldstone Report on the Cast Lead offensive. The soldiers' lawyer said during the trial that the case "reeked of the will to please the international community", while friends who testified on the soldiers' behalf accused their commanders of deserting them in their hour of need. The guilty pair have yet to be sentenced and could face up to three years in jail for their crimes. But there seems little likelihood that any high-ranking commanders from their fighting unit will face charges over the matter. Until senior officers are held to account for the actions of the soldiers under their command, the accusation that the IDF is making only token efforts to properly scrutinise troops' behaviour seems to carry weight. Human rights groups have documented scores of cases of similar abuses by IDF fighters since the practice of using human shields was supposedly banned in 2005. Allegations backed by substantial evidence continue to surface - and the IDF continues to fail to instigate meaningful investigations in almost all incidences. Israel's main line of defence when addressing the methods its troops employ during clashes with Hamas and other militant groups is that civilian casualties are often unavoidable thanks to their enemies' willingness to use their own civilians as human shields. Israeli politicians and military figures routinely condemn their Palestinian counterparts for such unconscionable behaviour, using it as an opportunity to take the moral high ground in their perpetual quest to boost their side's reputation. However, when cases such as this come to light, and when a raft of other allegations remain submerged in the murky depths of the IDF internal investigations department, Israel's image takes yet another battering. For all that Sunday's verdict could mark a turning-point in Israel's efforts to tackle its own troops' misdeeds, the signs point to the conviction being a sacrificial sop designed to take the heat off even more serious cases which will never see the light of a courtroom, let alone result in real justice being done. Two Israeli soldiers ‘take fall’ for Gaza offensive
IDF soldiers convicted of using Palestinian boy as human shield - but senior officers escape charges
Monday, 4 October 2010
LAST UPDATED 7:26 AM, OCTOBER 4, 2010
lmost two years since the Israeli army's Cast Lead offensive in Gaza, two soldiers have been convicted of using a Palestinian boy as a human shield during the operation. A military court found the staff sergeants guilty of "inappropriate behaviour" and exceeding their authority "to the point of endangering life", after hearing evidence that the pair ordered the nine-year-old to open bags suspected of containing explosives.
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