Such practices, documented in a 23-page report released Thursday by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), constitute "a serious violation of international humanitarian law" and a "war crime," according to the group which called on Israel to investigate specific incidents and bring those responsible to justice.

"Palestinians were taken at gunpoint to knock on doors, open strange packages, and search houses in which the IDF suspected armed Palestinians were present," according to the report, which described such practices as "routine."

In one case, a Palestinian man was shot in the upper leg in order to pressure his brother to surrender to IDF forces, a practice which amounted to "hostage-taking," the report said. "There is no justification for the abuses documented in this report," said Hanny Megally, director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa division. "The government of Israel should live up to its obligations and stop these acts immediately."

He noted that the IDF has so far rebuffed repeated requests by HRW to meet with Israeli military officials to discuss the findings of the report, which covers the period between October, 2001, when the IDF began staging raids into Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps in search of alleged terrorists, and the end of last month when its raids escalated into virtual reoccupations.

The report, comes as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell returns to Washington after an apparently fruitless 10-day quest to negotiate a ceasefire between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and besieged Palestine Authority President Yasser Arafat.

While Sharon pledged to withdraw from most of the populated areas invaded and occupied by the IDF within the next week, the army has continued launching raids into West Bank villages and has refused to permit Arafat to leave his besieged Ramallah offices.

At the same time, the IDF has continued to defend itself against charges by human rights, relief, and humanitarian groups that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in 'Operation Defensive Shield,' which was launched late last month after a suicide bomber killed two dozen Israelis gathered for Passover celebrations at a hotel in Netanya.

The same groups have also complained that Israeli authorities are not cooperating in relief efforts, particularly in the Jenin refugee camp, much of which was razed by the IDF when Palestinians there mounted a stiff resistance to the invading forces.

Outsiders gained access to the camp only in the last few days, and one Amnesty International delegate, Javier Zuniga, Wednesday described it as a "lunar landscape" where entire families may have been buried under the rubble of their own homes.

"If this was an earthquake the international community would be asked for and give urgent help," said Amnesty. "It is shocking that the authorities have not asked for help and that the international community is not offering it."

The new HRW report, 'In a Dark Hour: The Use of Civilians During IDF Arrest Operations,' is likely to fuel outrage over the IDF's conduct because it accuses the army of "systematically" forcing civilians to help carry out military operations.

Forcing civilians at gunpoint to act as a shield for IDF troops hunting terrorist suspects "violates a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law, that of civilian immunity," by recklessly exposing non-combatants to danger, according to the report, which documented two cases in which the IDF used children as shields.

HRW's charges largely echo similar accusations made by other human rights groups, including B'Tselem, a prominent Israeli group which monitors human rights conditions in the occupied territories, and independent Palestinian groups, such as the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment.

Four raids described in detail by HRW all shared common elements and dynamics. They all were aimed at arresting "wanted" Palestinians alleged to have planned or taken part in attacks against Israeli military targets or civilians.

In each case, eyewitnesses and victims described to HRW researchers a "night of panic and terror, including death threats, house demolitions, and wide-scale arrests," as well as the "routine" use of civilians by the IDF to perform "life-endangering acts."

In the IDF's December invasion of Salfit, a regional center of 7,000 inhabitants between Ramallah and Nablus, IDF soldiers held Palestinian civilians at close range while they came under fire from armed Palestinians, according to the report.

Copyright © 2002 OneWorld.net

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