A dangerous military operation is under way, with soldiers going through a neighborhood trying to root out militants. In an effort to make the operation safer - and, maybe, more effective - civilians are brought along to go ahead of soldiers into houses where suspects may be hiding.

The use of civilian "human shields" is an extremely controversial tactic of war - one that some say increases safety for militants' neighbors, but others condemn for putting civilians in harm's way. And some video footage captured recently by Associated Press Television News suggests it's happening in the Arab-Israeli conflict, with the Israeli military apparently forcing Palestinian civilians to join them on patrol.

In an asap video report, AP Jerusalem news editor JOSEF FEDERMAN, who's been covering the allegations of human-shield tactics in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, talks to AP deputy international editor NICOLAS B. TATRO as the AP Television News footage plays.

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Josef Federman is the AP's news editor in Jerusalem. Nicolas B. Tatro is the AP's deputy international editor, based in New York.