Supreme Court order? Like that’s going to stop them! ha!

JERUSALEM - The young Palestinian man was dressed in shorts and a T’shirt on a cold winter morning as he walked in front of heavily armed Israeli soldiers on a door-to-door sweep of three apartments in a crowded West Bank neighborhood.

The scene - caught by an Associated Press Television News camera - has raised questions about whether the Israeli army is still using Palestinian civilians during military operations, despite a Supreme Court order barring the practice.

Human rights groups call the tactic a violation of local and international law that places innocent civilians in the line of fire.

In its initial reaction to the footage, the Israel Defense Forces said there appeared to be no wrongdoing by its soldiers. In a statement, however, the army pledged it would “pursue a thorough inquiry” into the case.

The incident occurred Sunday in Nablus, where the army has been conducting broad arrest raids throughout the week. The army says most suicide bombings over the past year, including an attempted attack last week, have originated in the Nablus area.

In the AP video, the young Palestinian man is seen leading soldiers to the door of a home. He stands outside as troops move in, then leads the soldiers up some stairs to the apartment’s main entrance.

The man enters the home ahead of the soldiers. Gunshots are heard as several soldiers stand guard outside. The man then leaves the home, walks down the stairs and escorts the soldiers around the side of the building, where he said he led soldiers into two more apartments out of view of the cameras.

Later, he is seen on the footage being led down stairs with several suspects. He and the other men are all placed into a military vehicle.

In interviews with the AP, the Palestinian man, Sameh Amira, 24, said he was awakened at about 5 a.m. by soldiers and ordered to go with his family to a neighboring home. About an hour later, he said he was forced to lead troops into three apartments, including his own. He said he was not allowed to put on warmer clothes.

“They asked me to walk in front of them against my will,” he said, adding that he was occasionally prodded along at gunpoint.

Inside his home, he said soldiers opened fire at bedroom closets. “All the time, I was scared, terrified. Anything could happen,” he told the AP, pointing to bullet holes in the floor, closet doors and clothing in the closets.

Read more at Chron.com