From the Israel Archives |
Coverage of the Events since October 2000
Hände weg von Israel und Islam!
Background Questions On The Human Shields Issue
2006-08-14
Introduction
Israel's failure to sufficiently address the human shield issue - both in terms of operative policy and in the information campaign - cost the nation dearly in this war. It is an issue that requires serious and prompt attention so that in the coming clashes (including the ongoing one in Gaza) the IDF is equipped to perform its mission without unnecessarily risking Israeli lives.
On paper, the Government of Israel sets strategic policy and the IDF translates policy into operative plans while working with a team of career IDF lawyers lead by the IDF Advocate General to insure that the plans are in line with international law.
The application of international law to operative plans is subject to considerable judgment and interpretation.
Some questions
- Have these lawyers actively stopped the IDF from taking certain measures under circumstances that would have saved Israeli lives while external legal experts maintain the law permitted such measures?
- Did the IDF chain of command decline to even consider certain legal life-saving measures in anticipation that the legal advisors would reject them? What steps, if any, do the IDF legal advisors take to insure that this doesn't happen?
- Are there technologies Israel does not employ today that would be particularly effective in operations in Lebanon whose use external legal experts maintain is consistent with international law?
