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Hold Hamas Accountable for Human-Shields Use during the 2021 Gaza War
(Foundation for Defense of Democracies) Orde Kittrie - During the May 2021 Gaza conflict, Hamas relied heavily on the use of civilians as human shields, which is a war crime. The Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act, enacted unanimously by Congress in 2018, requires the president to impose sanctions on persons involved in the use of human shields by Hamas or Hizbullah. The Biden administration should start implementing the Shields Act, including by imposing sanctions on Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas political leader in Gaza, and other terrorist officials. The Associated Press found that "Palestinian fighters are clearly operating in built-up residential areas and have positioned tunnels, rocket launchers, and command and control infrastructure in close proximity to schools, mosques and homes." Moreover, Shields Act sanctions on Hamas would be an important step toward countering the extensive use of human shields against the U.S. and its allies. In 2019, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, said that, considering the frequency and effectiveness of human-shields use against NATO forces, "it is essential that further measures be taken at the national level to maximize enforcement of the international legal prohibition of the use of human shields." The writer, who served for ten years as a U.S. State Department attorney, is a law professor at Arizona State University and a senior fellow at FDD.