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Israel cluster bomb use vexes US

Israel probably misused US-made cluster bombs in civilian areas of Lebanon during the war against Hezbollah last summer, the US State Department said on Monday.

A preliminary report on Israel's suspected misuse of the cluster bombs was sent on Monday to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Joseph Biden.

It is up to Congress to determine whether further investigation is warranted.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said he was unable to provide details of the investigation.

The UN said last summer that unexploded cluster bombs -- anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets over a wide area -- litter homes, gardens and highways in south Lebanon.

Studies show that cluster bombs kill more civilians than military personnel.

When Israel purchases cluster bombs and other lethal equipment from the US, it is required to agree in writing to restrictions on their use.

The report, McCormack said, "is not a final judgment."

He declined to speculate on what actions might be taken against Israel if a violation were confirmed.

He said that Israeli officials had been cooperative in providing information.

It is too early to assess the impact of the report because its findings are preliminary.

But any sanctions against Israel would represent a sharp departure for the administration, which has pursued a staunch pro-Israeli position.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: "Israel takes the concerns raised by the US extremely seriously. In response we have been as detailed, forthcoming, and transparent as possible."

He added that Israel was undertaking its own internal investigation of munitions use during the Lebanon conflict.

Danny Ayalon, the recently retired Israeli ambassador to Washington, said Israel had no choice but to use the munitions against villages.

"This was a clear-cut case of self-defense, in order to stop incoming Katyusha rockets aimed at our own population centers, and it was done to areas that were likely to be abandoned by Lebanese civilians," Ayalon said.

But New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch said the findings of the report "should lead to an immediate cutoff of all US cluster munitions sales to Israel."

The UN Mine Action Coordination Center has said that said that it is not illegal to use the cluster bombs against soldiers or enemy fighters, but that the Geneva Conventions bar their use in civilian areas.

Relief organizations and the UN mine office have reported finding evidence that Israel used three types of US-made cluster bombs during the 34-day war with Hezbollah militants, during which both sides fired rockets into populated areas.

The UN mine office said in a report last Wednesday that it had found hundreds of bomblets of the types made by the US among unexploded ordnance recovered in nearly 250 locations in southern Lebanon.

Israel also makes its own cluster munitions.

The administration of late US president Ronald Reagan had imposed a six-year ban on cluster-weapon sales to Israel in 1982, after a congressional investigation found misuse of the weapon during Israel's war that year with Lebanon.

The Israeli military has said that all weapons it uses "are legal under international law and their use conforms with international standards."

Cluster bombs are typically used against tanks and explode upon impact with steel.

During the conflict in Lebanon, cluster bomb shells were fired into urban and rural areas where Israel said they believed Hezbollah guerrillas might be hiding.

Many hit the ground or pavement and did not explode, but have continued to be detonated when found by civilians.

Children have been particularly affected by the bombs because they find them and try to play with them. The released bombs are often bright yellow with parachutes and easily catch the attention of a child.

Israel said it was forced to use bombs in civilian areas in Lebanon because Hezbollah fighters were using villages as a base for rocket-launchers aimed at Israel

At least 850 Lebanese and 157 Israelis died in the fighting.

The administration of US President George W. Bush repeatedly warned Israel to avoid civilian casualties during the cross-border war, but refrained from direct criticism of Israeli tactics.
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