JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli military court convicted two soldiers of using a Palestinian child as a human shield during the Gaza war.
The Israeli soldiers were convicted Sunday of inappropriate behavior and overstepping authority for forcing an 11-year-old Palestinian boy to open bags they believed to be armed with explosives during a search conducted in southern Gaza City in January 2009.
They were the first convictions on the use of human shields, which is prohibited by Israeli military protocol, according to Haaretz.
An investigation into the incident was opened in July following the release of a special United Nations report on children and armed conflict, and after a complaint filed by the Israel office of Defense for Children International.
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