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<p class=MsoNormal><sub><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Last update - 14:20 12/09/2006</span></font></sub><o:p></o:p></p>
<h2><b><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:18.0pt'>IDF
commander: We fired more than a million cluster bombs in Lebanon<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><sub><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>By Meron Rappaport</span></font></sub><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
"What we did was insane and monstrous, we covered entire towns in
cluster bombs," the head of an IDF rocket unit in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> said
regarding the use of cluster bombs and phosphorous shells during the war. <br>
<br>
Quoting his battalion commander, the rocket unit head stated that the IDF
fired around 1,800 cluster bombs, containing over 1.2 million cluster
bomblets.<br>
<br>
In addition, soldiers in IDF artillery units testified that the army used
phosphorous shells during the war, widely forbidden by international law.
According to their claims, the vast majority of said explosive ordinance was
fired in the final 10 days of the war. <br>
<br>
The rocket unit commander stated that Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
platforms were heavily used in spite of the fact that they were known to be
highly inaccurate. <br>
<br>
MLRS is a track or tire carried mobile rocket launching platform, capable of
firing a very high volume of mostly unguided munitions. The basic rocket
fired by the platform is unguided and imprecise, with a range of about 32
kilometers. The rockets are designed to burst into sub-munitions at a planned
altitude in order to blanket enemy army and personnel on the ground with
smaller explosive rounds. <br>
<br>
The use of such weaponry is controversial mainly due to its inaccuracy and
ability to wreak great havoc against indeterminate targets over large areas
of territory, with a margin of error of as much as 1,200 meters from the
intended target to the area hit. <br>
<br>
The cluster rounds which don't detonate on impact, believed by the United
Nations to be around 40% of those fired by the IDF in Lebanon, remain on the
ground as unexploded munitions, effectively littering the landscape with
thousands of land mines which will continue to claim victims long after the
war has ended. <br>
<br>
Because of their high level of failure to detonate, it is believed that there
are around 500,000 unexploded munitions on the ground in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>. To
date 12 Lebanese civilians have been killed by these mines since the end of
the war.<br>
<br>
According to the commander, in order to compensate for the inaccuracy of the
rockets and the inability to strike individual targets precisely, units would
"flood" the battlefield with munitions, accounting for the littered
and explosive landscape of post-war <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <br>
<br>
When his reserve duty came to a close, the commander in question sent a
letter to Defense Minister Amir Peretz outlining the use of cluster
munitions, a letter which has remained unanswered.<br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>'Excessive injury and unnecessary
suffering'</span></b><br>
<br>
It has come to light that IDF soldiers fired phosphorous rounds in order to
cause fires in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
An artillery commander has admitted to seeing trucks loaded with phosphorous
rounds on their way to artillery crews in the north of <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <br>
<br>
A direct hit from a phosphorous shell typically causes severe burns and a
slow, painful death. <br>
<br>
International law forbids the use of weapons that cause "excessive
injury and unnecessary suffering", and many experts are of the opinion
that phosphorous rounds fall directly in that category. <br>
<br>
The International Red Cross has determined that international law forbids the
use of phosphorous and other types of flammable rounds against personnel,
both civilian and military. <br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>IDF: No violation of international law</span></b><br>
In response, the IDF Spokesman's Office stated that "International law
does not include a sweeping prohibition of the use of cluster bombs. The
convention on conventional weaponry does not declare a prohibition on [phosphorous
weapons], rather, on principles regulating the use of such weapons. <br>
<br>
"For understandable operational reasons, the IDF does not respond to
[accounts of] details of weaponry in its possession. <br>
<br>
"The IDF makes use only of methods and weaponry which are permissible
under international law. Artillery fire in general, including MLRS fire, were
used in response solely to firing on the state of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>."<br>
<br>
The Defense Minister's office said it had not received messages regarding
cluster bomb fire. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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