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Israeli military finds cluster bomb use in Lebanon war was legal
Investigators recommend no charges be filed against Israeli officers for the use of cluster bombs in the 2006 war with Hizbullah.
The Israeli military has found that it did not violate international law when it used cluster bombs while fighting Hizbullah in Lebanon last summer, despite fierce international condemnation of its decision to drop the ordnance in and near populated civilian areas.
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The Associated Press reports that the Military Advocate General of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Monday that it found no violations of international law during its investigation into the use of cluster bombs during the Israel-Hizbullah war in the summer of 2006.
In a statement, the army said its chief investigator, Maj. Gen. Gershon HaCohen, determined "it was clear that the majority of the cluster munitions were fired at open and uninhabited areas, areas from which Hezbollah forces operated and in which no civilians were present."
It said cluster bombs were fired at residential areas only "as an immediate defense response to rocket attacks by Hezbollah" and that Israeli troops did everything possible to minimize civilian casualties.
"The use of this weaponry was legal once it was determined that, in order to prevent rocket fire onto Israel, its use was a concrete military necessity," the statement said.
Israel faced harsh criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups for its use of cluster bombs in and near populated areas in Lebanon. The British Broadcasting Corp. writes that the UN called Israel's use of the bombs in the last 72 hours of the war, when it was clear a cease-fire was imminent, "shocking and immoral."
Cluster bombs frequently do not detonate on impact, effectively turning them into land mines that threaten civilians long after their original deployment. The IDF's investigation into its use of cluster bombs began shortly after the fighting ended in 2006.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Judge Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, who announced the IDF's findings, said that the use of cluster bombs was "a concrete military necessity" in order to stop Hizbullah rockets from being fired into Israel.
Mandelblit's report rejected the accusation that the IDF committed war crimes and claimed that Hizbullah's use of forestry areas left the Israeli military with no choice but to use weaponry, like cluster bombs, which provide maximum coverage within the targeted area.
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