Zachary Foster@_ZachFoster
Jun 10
25 tweets
A brief history of Israel's use of human shields, a 
.
.June 2024: Israeli soldiers used an aid truck to enter central Gaza, killing 276 Palestinians & releasing 4 hostages. A survivor of the massacre reported: the aid truck stopped in Nuseirat, Israeli soldiers got out of the truck & sprayed him w/3 bullets.
x.com/muhammadshehad
Muhammad Shehada@muhammadshehad2
Jun 08
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A massacre survivor says the aid truck stopped, it was full of clothes & cutlery.
10 IDF soldiers exited the truck & sprayed him with 3 bullets, then Israel began to intensely bomb the area with "fire belts" (i.e. simultaneously dropping a large amount of bombs indiscriminately)
May 2024: the Israeli military used an elderly man in Shuja'iyya, Gaza as a human shield, forcing him to inspect buildings with two (likely explosive) drones on top of his head ready to kill him at any second. x.com/muhammadshehad
Muhammad Shehada@muhammadshehad2
May 03
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Leaked footage shows Israel taking an elderly Gazan as a human shield & forcing him to inspect buildings with two (likely explosive) drones on top of his head ready to kill him at any second.
Guess who's NEVER accused of taking Gazans as human shields in mainstream media ever? Jan. 2024: the Israeli military used a civilian as a human shield in clashes today in Hebron, West Bank. x.com/QudsNen/status
Quds News Network@QudsNen
Jan 15
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Footage shows Israeli occupation forces using a civilian as a human shield in clashes today in Hebron, West Bank.
Jan 2024: Israeli gunmen dressed as hospital staff and Arab civilians raided a hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin, killing 3 Palestinians. npr.org/2024/01/30/122.
Jan. 2024: the Israeli army used a Jerusalemite as a human shield in its invasion of the Qalandia refugee camp. The Israel soldier holding him is careful to keep the Palestinian detainee in front of him as they point their weapons upwards. x.com/PeruginiNic/st
Dec. 2023: "Testimony of those arrested by the Israeli army (in Gaza): They provided vests packed w/ explosives to the detainees & put them in a tunnel as human shields. If anyone resisted, the army would blow up the detainee booby-trapped in the tunnel!" x.com/Almeqdad/statu
Meqdad Jameel@Almeqdad
Dec 10 23
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شهادة وصلتني من بعض من اعتقلهم جيش الاحتلال: قاموا بتقديم سترات مفخخة بالمتفجرات للشباب المعتقلين، وأدخلوهم في نفق كدروع بشرية، وفي حال وجود مقاومين، يقوم الجيش بتفجير المعتقل المفخخ بالنفق!
من بين من تم اعتقالهم واستخدامهم كدرع بشري، طفل عمره 15 عام!
Nov. 2023: A video shows Israeli soldiers using a blindfolded Palestinian detainee as a human shield in the West Bank. He is seated on the ground w/ vehicles behind him using him as a shield as an Israeli soldier aim his rifle towards Palestinians x.com/QudsNen/status
Quds News Network@QudsNen
Nov 10 23
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Israeli occupation soldiers use a Palestinian detainee as a human shield during confrontations in the Al-Arroub refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank.
May 2023: Israeli soldiers forced Nidal, 9, Karam, 11, Ahmad, 2 & Mohammad, 2 to stand in front of Israeli military vehicles while they fired tear gas canisters, stun grenades & live ammunition at Palestinians in Ramallah dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces
March 2023: Anas al-Khalili from Nablus. “I was used as a human shield by Israeli forces. They handcuffed me & started shooting from behind me. While I was handcuffed, they pushed me down the stairs, they stayed behind me & were shooting at the men… youtube.com/watch?v=XHi6uQ
May 2022: Israeli soldiers used 16yr old Ahed Mohammad Rida Mereb as a human shield in front of an Israeli military vehicle while in Jenin. Israeli soldiers forced her to stand in front of a vehicle on as Palestinian gunmen shot at Israeli forces dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces
June 2021: Israel is using a Palestinian child as a human shield to stop protesters throwing stones at them in the occupied West Bank. x.com/V_Palestine20/
V PALESTINE 
@V_Palestine20
Jun 19 21
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Israel is using a #Palestinian child as a human shield to stop protesters throwing stones at them in the occupied West Bank.
#IsraelStopPlayingVictim
March 2018 Israel soldiers detained ‘Abd a-Rahim Gheith in Jericho & ordered him out the car, handcuffed him & made him sit on the road for 2hrs. Gheith was then used as a human shied, & was hit by stones thrown at the soldiers. Video: youtube.com/watch?v=Wzzrpt
July-Aug 2014: The Israeli military used Ramadan Qudeih as a human shield: “Israeli soldiers handcuffed & blindfolded us...they made us stand by the windows as protective shields for them [for 9hrs]. There was gunfire all around us. We were their shields." youtube.com/watch?v=oed1s5
July-August 2014: The Israeli army used Nazeeha al-Najjar and her family as human shields. “They refused to let us out….I asked for am ambulance for my sister, who fainted, they refused. They held us to protect themselves." (7:30) youtube.com/watch?v=oed1s5
July-August 2014: "I was taken prisoner, handcuffed & walked almost at gun point…he made me walk forward and he was protected by me…if any shots had been fired, they’d have hit me. He [the israeli soldier] was right behind me. youtube.com/watch?v=oed1s5
2010-2013: "The Committee on the Rights of the Child express deep concern about the continuous use of Palestinian children as human shields and informants. 14 such cases have been reported from January 2010 to 31 March 2013 only." youtube.com/watch?v=oed1s5
2008-9: Israeli military used Palestinians as human shields in the 2008-9 war on Gaza, including Majdi Abd Rabbo, Abbas Ahmad Ibrahim Halawa, Mahmoud Abd Rabbo al-Ajrami and others. See p. 218-230 of the UN's Goldstone Report: documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/
Feb 2009: the Israeli army used Magdy Rabbo as a human shield: “the officers said I wouldn’t see my family unless i did it…he pushed me w/his weapon, held me by my neck & said go." [He had to go back & forth between Israeli soldiers & hamas fighers]. youtube.com/watch?v=acaU4D
Feb 2009: the Israeli army used Rabbi Abde Rabi as a human shield in Gaza: “They would send us ahead they made me dig holes in the wall...first to check in case they were booby trapped. We were put in front so in case there was gunfire, we would be [hit]." youtube.com/watch?v=acaU4D
2000-5: the Israeli military used Palestinians as human shields on 1,200 occasions from 2000-5, according to Israeli officials. belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-new
2002: the Israeli military forced Palestinians to walk thru buildings suspected to be booby-trapped. they were forced to enter certain areas before the Israeli forces to serve as shields against attacks (p.230) documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/
May 2001: the Israeli army took over Hussein Aladi’s home, established an Israeli military base on the roof. For 3 months, they fired every day from there. The army insisted family always remain in the house, to protect the Israeli soldiers in it. youtube.com/watch?v=D9SlKC
Now, a brief summary of Israel's use of Israeli civilians as human shields:
In the 1950s, Israel built civilian centers in border areas to serve as a first line of military defense. 108 such settlements were built in Israel after 1948, including many of the Israeli towns near Gaza like Nahal Oz.
Israeli historian Yoav Gelber put it this way: "Originally, the border settlements served as Israel’s first line of defense. They defended themselves & supplemented the then small regular army (three brigades) in providing cover for the mobilization of the reserve formations. The status of those living in the border settlements was identical to that of reserve soldiers. They were organized in companies and platoons in the border towns and villages and integrated into the IDF’s territorial hierarchy of areas and districts under territorial commands. They were trained and equipped according to their mission, including anti-tank and light support arms." jstribune.com/gelber-israels
The Israeli military HQ is in the Tel Aviv city center, a few hundred meters from a large high school. Why is the Israeli military HQ so close to so many children? Why does it operate its war machine so close to so many innocent Israeli children? jacobin.com/2023/11/human-
The Israeli army’s radio station, @גלצ, is located in a residential apartment building & its antennas are on the roof of that residential building. x.com/MikeOmerMan/st
Israel's civilian settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been & continue to be used for military purposes. Avigdor Lierman said this explicitly: “The settlements in Judea & Samaria & those here in the area of Jericho and the Dead Sea are the State of Israel’s true defensive wall.” jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-C
Many of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank were first established as military outposts, later converted into civilian towns; Israeli settlers wear military garb, carry weapons & enmesh themselves w/ the Israeli army in the OPT, blurring the lines between combatants & civilians. haaretz.com/israel-news/20
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