Another innovative legal doctrine from Israel.  To paraphrase: Israeli soldiers are civilians in uniform and therefore entitled to be treated like civilians under the laws of war while enemy civilians are combatants and can be dealt with as if they were soldiers.

I am grateful to Helena Cobban for pointing out in a separate email exchange that international humanitarian law has heretofore been clear on the following: (1) Combatants and their commanders must take every possible measure to avoid harm to civilians and their infrastructure, including if this places the lives of its own side's combatants at greater risk; and (2) Within the laws of war, there is no material difference between the protections offered to "one's own" civilians and those offered to those of "the other side": All are to be protected equally.

On its face, the IDF's practice constitutes a grave breach of the laws of war, i.e. a war crime.

http://forward.com/opinion/307718/in-wartime-who-comes-first-soldiers-or-civilians/

In Wartime, Who Comes First — Soldiers or Civilians?

Elisheva Goldberghttp://forward.com/opinion/307718/in-wartime-who-comes-first-soldiers-or-civilians/