IOF used Palestinian children as human shields in West Bank: DCI

Israeli soldiers reportedly used three Palestinian children as human shields during violent raids in Tulkarm, West Bank, earlier this month, according to a Defense for Children International (DCI) report.

The children were forced to walk in front of occupation forces as they raided the alleyways of the Nur Shams refugee camp and the homes of Palestinians in its vicinity.

Karim; 13-year-old boy

According to a report, Israeli soldiers allegedly used two Palestinian children as human shields by placing rifles on their shoulders and firing shots in two incidents.

A 13-year-old boy named Karim described how approximately 30 Israeli occupation soldiers raided his family’s apartment on May 6, detaining them in one room and then forcing him to lead them through other rooms of the house.

“They took him to the stairs of the building, and they were accompanied by a huge police dog. While they were walking, one of the soldiers put his rifle on the child’s right shoulder and fired two bullets at one of the building’s apartments,” DCI stated.

According to the report, Karim said he was “crying and shaking from fear” during the ordeal, adding, “Whenever I begged the soldiers, they would scream at me and ask me to be silent.”

Karim also revealed that he was physically beaten and verbally abused during the ordeal.

“They beat me on my lower extremities and my back for about five minutes, and they were telling me that I was a terrorist,” he said.

Mohammad; 12-year-old boy

Another child, 12-year-old Mohammad, recounted how Israeli occupation forces separated him from his family during a raid on their apartment.

Subsequently, he was coerced to knock on neighbors’ doors, urging them to leave.

The 12-year-old boy described feelings of fear, terror, and pain, and despite pleading with the occupation forces to release him, he was unsuccessful.

Mohammad also described how a soldier placed a rifle on his shoulder and fired multiple shots into the roof from the building’s staircase.

Ibrahim; 14-year-old-boy

Fourteen-year-old Ibrahim described a similar ordeal where his family home was raided on Monday morning. He was taken to a room where he faced threats of assault from Israeli occupation soldiers shouting at him in Arabic, according to the rights organization.

Ibrahim was subsequently handcuffed and forced to walk ahead of the soldiers in Tulkarm’s al-Sawalma neighborhood. He expressed being “trembling from fear” throughout the incident, terrified that he would be arrested.

On its part, DCI stressed that “detaining children as human shields is considered a war crime committed by the Israeli army.”

Moreover, the report underscored that since 2000, Israeli occupation forces have reportedly used 34 children as human shields in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.