TEL AVIV — Israel's military has launched an investigation that the
army ignored a ban on cluster bombs during the war against Hizbullah in
Lebanon in mid-2006.
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz has appointed Maj. Gen. Gershon
HaCohen to examine the army's widespread use of cluster bombs during the
last days of the war in August. Halutz suggested that army commanders
ignored his order to limit the firing of U.S.-origin cluster munitions.
"There is no question that one of the things that must be investigated
is the way in which the orders were given and implemented," Halutz said on
Monday. "Were the orders explicit? I believe they were."
Military sources said Halutz imposed severe restrictions on army and air
force use of cluster submunitions during the 34-day war. They said the air
force obeyed the orders, while the army fired hundreds of artillery shells
with more than 1 million cluster submunitions toward suspected Hizbullah
strongholds in southern Lebanon.
But at least one senior officer said the General Staff approved all
cluster warhead targets in Lebanon. An unidentified commander in the
Artillery Corps told the Israeli daily Haaretz that his unit fired all of
the cluster bombs north of Lebanon's Litani River with permission from the
General Staff.
The sources said the investigation stemmed from meetings with the United
States and the United Nations regarding Israel's use of cluster munitions.
At least 22 Lebanese were said to have been killed by the munitions since
the end of the war on Aug. 14.
"Within the framework of a recent operational inquiry into the use of
cluster munitions throughout the Israeli-Lebanese conflict, questions were
raised regarding the full implementation of the orders of the IDF General
Staff concerning the use of cluster munitions," a military statement said on
Monday.
The munitions were fired by the Artillery Corps' fleet of Multiple
Launch Rocket Systems, sold by Lockheed Martin in the 1990s. The military
said the use of such munitions in open areas was permitted by international
law.
"The findings of the operational inquiry show that prior to the firing
of cluster munitions, safety warnings were given by the IDF to the civilian
population, recommending them to leave certain areas," the statement said.
"The findings also show that the firing of cluster munitions was directed
only at legitimate military targets which had been identified as sites from
which Katyusha rockets were being launched against Israel."
The military said Israel has transferred maps to the UN to help identify
and collect the cluster munitions. The statement said the munitions also
produced duds.
The sources said officers found to have violated Halutz's orders could
face courtmartial. Halutz's deputy, Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinski, had been
given responsibility for the ground war in Lebanon.
"It is likely the chief of staff did not know what his deputy was doing
during the war," a source said.
