[LCM Articles] When rockets and phosphorous cluster

[Abdallah Jabbour]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/761910.html (more detailed article than
the previous one published last week)


By Meron Rapoport



"In Lebanon, we covered entire villages with cluster bombs, what we did
there was crazy and monstrous," testifies a commander in the Israel Defense
Forces' MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) unit. Quoting his battalion
commander, he said the IDF fired some 1,800 cluster rockets on Lebanon
during the war and they contained over 1.2 million cluster bombs. The IDF
also used cluster shells fired by 155 mm artillery cannons, so the number of
cluster bombs fired on Lebanon is even higher. At the same time, soldiers in
the artillery corps testified that the IDF used phosphorous shells, which
many experts say is prohibited by international law. According to the
claims, the overwhelming majority of the weapons mentioned were fired during
the last ten days of the war.

The commander asserted that there was massive use of MLRS rockets despite
the fact that they are known to be very inaccurate - the rockets' deviation
from the target reaches to around 1,200 meters - and that a substantial
percentage do not explode and become mines. Due to these facts, most experts
view cluster ammunitions as a "non-discerning" weapon that is prohibited for
use in a civilian environment. The percentage of duds among the rockets
fired by the U.S. army in Iraq reached 30 percent and the United Nations'
land mine removal team in Lebanon claims that the percentage of duds among
the rockets fired by the IDF reaches some 40 percent. In light of these
figures, the number of duds left behind by the Israeli cluster rockets in
Lebanon is likely to reach half a million.

According to the commander, in order to compensate for the rockets'
imprecision, the order was to "flood" the area with them. "We have no option
of striking an isolated target, and the commanders know this very well," he
said. He also stated that the reserve soldiers were surprised by the use of
MLRS rockets, because during their regular army service, they were told
these are the IDF's "judgment day weapons" and intended for use in a
full-scale war.

The commander also said that at least in one case, they were asked to fire
cluster rockets toward "a village's outskirts" in the early morning: "They
told us that this is a good time because people are coming out of the
mosques and the rockets would deter them." In other cases, they fired the
rockets at a range of less than 15 kilometers, even though the
manufacturer's guidelines state that firing at this range considerably
increases the number of duds. The commander further related that during IDF
training exercises hardly any live rockets are fired, for fear that they
would leave duds behind and fill the IDF's firing grounds with mines.

After being discharged from his reserve duty, the commander sent a letter to
Defense Minister Amir Peretz and protested the number of cluster rockets
fired in Lebanon, which "perhaps the generals forgot to mention." "As far as
the duds are concerned," he wrote, "we have no control over who is hurt.
Sooner or later they will explode in people's hands." He has yet to receive
a response from the defense minister.

At the same time, soldiers are reporting that they fired phosphorous shells,
which are supposed to be used by the IDF for marking or setting fire to
areas, in order to start fires in Lebanon. The artillery commander says he
saw trucks with phosphorous shells en route to artillery batteries in the
North.

A direct hit from a phosphorous shell causes severe burns and a painful
death. Around a year ago, there was an international scandal after a
television crew presented harsh pictures of the charred bodies of Iraqis
injured by phosphorous bombs during the course of the American attack on the
city of Fallujah.

International law prohibits the use of weapons that cause "excessive damage
and unnecessary suffering," and many experts feel that phosphorous is
included in this category. The International Red Cross determined that
international law prohibits the use of phosphorous against humans. The
American "Book of War," published in 1999, which sets down the rules of war
for the American army, states: "The ground war law prohibits the use of
phosphorous against human targets." The pact on prohibiting or limiting
flammable weapons bans the use of phosphorous against civilian targets and
against military targets found amid large civil populations.


The IDF Spokesperson said: "International law does not contain a sweeping
ban on the use of cluster bombs. The Conventional Weapons Pact does not
stipulate a ban on the use of inflammatory weapons (i.e., phosphorous - M.R.),
rather it only offers rules for organizing the use of this weapon. For
understandable operational reasons, the IDF will not comment on a detailed
listing of the weaponry at its disposal. The IDF uses only methods and
weapons that are permitted according to international law. The firing of
artillery in general, including the firing of artillery to demolish a
target, was initiated in response to firing at the State of Israel only."
The defense minister's bureau said in response that it had yet to receive an
inquiry on the matter of firing cluster rockets.
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