November 22, 2006

Palestinian Human Shields

By Andre Zantonavitch

There’s something new in the world. It comes courtesy of the Muslims. In their earnest and admirable struggle toward world domination, jihadi fighters now seem to openly embrace using their own people as “human shields.”

But maybe this development on the world scene isn’t entirely “new.” Does anyone remember all those passionately supportive “innocent civilians” in southern Lebanon in the recent Israeli war against Hezbollah and Company?

On November 8th, at a mosque in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, the Palestinians used about fifty heavily-shrouded women as “human shields” to provide cover for a few dozen or so jihadis trapped by the Israeli military. The Jewish army declined to fire very much at the fleeing terrorists, lest they kill “non-combatants.” And all the jihadi fighters escaped—most or all of them dressed as women.

On November 19th, in Jabalya, Gaza, the Palestinians used several hundred women and children(!) as “human shields” to protect the house of newly-targeted Mohammedweil Baroud, leader of the jihadist Popular Resistance Committees. Baroud has recently been very active in firing Qassam rockets into Israel, successfully maiming and killing.

The BBC News of November 20th took note of these two events, and this new Palestinian tactic, calling it “unprecedented.” They also observed it seems to work.

After Israel phoned Baroud to give him thirty minutes to evacuate his seemingly-doomed house, the Popular Resistance Committees used mosques and Gaza television to ask civilians to protect him, especially women. A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees issued a public statement:

“We call upon all the fighters to reject evacuating their houses and we urge our people to rush into the threatened houses and make human shields.”

The Gazans did this by the hundreds. An Israeli military spokesman conceded the planned missile attack was aborted for this reason.

This new phenomenon seems to have been invented by Jamila Shanti, former philosophy professor and current Palestinian legislator, who also founded the women’s branch of Hamas. Shanti also led the successful human shield campaign in Beit Hanoun on November 8th. According to her shield theory:

“We consider it a new kind of resistance, highly successful, one that will serve us well against the Israeli enemy.”

In the most recent event, the human shields at Baroud’s house fired guns into the air and energetically chanted “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” One special shield at Baroud’s house was Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

“We are so proud of this national stand. It’s the first step toward protecting our homes, the homes of our children,” he said, while ascending to the roof.

Israel seems alarmed by all this. Also confused. According to military spokeswoman Noa Meir:

“What happened over the weekend is very worrisome to us. Not only are they using their civilians as human shields, they continue to endanger the lives of our own civilians with their rocket attacks. It presents us with a very difficult dilemma, because we want to do everything possible to keep civilians out of harm’s way.”

Such is Israel’s moral ignorance, weakness, and virtual bankruptcy. Humanity seems to have hit a new low with this. The Palestinians are using the Israelis’ well-known dedication to high principles and moral ideals against them. As one military spokesman foolishly put it, “We differentiate between innocent people and terrorists.”

The problem is those innocent people are acting completely in concert with the jihadis and support them utterly. They’re hardly innocent. They have made themselves into combatants.

Utlimately, the flawed moral beliefs of the Israelis need to be discarded and replaced with something far different. The Jewish State needs to reacquaint itself with the noble concept of self-defense—and recognize that all those jihadi-supporting “human shields” are properly subject to attack.