Dura (Reuters) – A Palestinian shop owner makes serious allegations against the Israeli army.
Soldiers used him as a human shield during a raid in the town of Dura in the occupied West Bank, Baha Abu Ras told Reuters on Tuesday. Cell phone footage shows Abus Ras being led down a street by a soldier – with one hand the soldier grabs him by the upper back and pushes him ahead of him, with the other hand he places his rifle on his shoulder. Two Israeli soldiers walk cautiously behind the two, rifles at the ready.
Abu Ras said he was taken from his cellphone shop in Dura, near the city of Hebron, on Monday. Israeli soldiers had previously searched the store during a raid. According to Palestinian information, two Palestinians were shot.
The first soldier “told me that he would use me as a human shield and that young people should not throw stones,” Abu Ras reported. “‘You will go before me.’ So it happened, and he took me towards the city center.” The use of human shields is widely condemned under international law. Israel has accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields in the Gaza Strip. This was denied by the militant group.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident. An earlier statement said troops fired live fire in Dura. They wanted to use this to drive away around 100 people who had thrown stones and firebombs.
Israel has repeatedly deployed soldiers and carried out raids in the West Bank because of increased clashes there in the wake of the war in Gaza. With its offensive in the Gaza Strip, it is responding to the surprise attack by Hamas and allied radical groups on October 7th. According to Israeli figures, 1,200 people were killed in the attack and 240 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip. Around 130 hostages are still being held there by Hamas and other extremists.
(Report by Yosri Al Jamal, written by Rene Wagner – If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected])