NABLUS, West Bank, April 13 (Reuters) - The Israeli army said on Friday it had suspended one of its commanders after an amateur video showed his men using two Palestinians as shields against rock-throwing youths.

An army statement said the commander had been suspended "from all operational activity" and an investigation launched into the incident this week in the West Bank city of Nablus.

Israeli law bans the military from using human shields.

The video, taken by a foreign activist, showed Israeli soldiers apparently forcing two Palestinian civilians to stand in front of an armoured military jeep to shield them from stones.

Last month, Israeli soldiers used an 11-year-old Palestinian girl as a human shield during an operation against militants in Nablus, an Israeli human rights group said.

Palestinian officials and some human rights groups say the army's use of Palestinians as human shields has become common practics during the seven-year-old Palestinian uprising, endangering the lives of civilians.

"The Israeli government must stop such unethical practices immediately," said top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. (Reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem)

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