An interesting use of swarming: Palestinians form human shield in Gaza City
[Thanks to Charles Cameron !!]
Hundreds of Palestinians formed a human shield around the home of a militant in the northern Gaza Strip to prevent an Israeli airstrike on the building, residents said. People flocked to the home of Mohammedweil Baroud after he received a warning from the army late yesterday giving him 30 minutes to leave the house. Barhoud is a commander in the Popular Resistance Committees in the northern town of Beit Lahiya who is charge of firing homemade rockets at Israel. Crowds of people stood on the rooftop and in the yard of the home.
Human shields are nothing new. But with todays communications technology, flash mobbing potential targets may very well be a new way to stop air strikes or raids. The question is whether other groups will pick up on this and whether Palestinians see the opportunity here. At least it requires a certain amount of infrastructure which we wont see as easily in Afghanistan though in Iraq and Pakistan its not unthinkable.
