IDF: Use of cluster bombs during war legal
Chief military advocate general says artillery corps' use of controversial munitions in Second Lebanon War falls within international humanitarian law. IDF reportedly fired some 2,400 cluster bombs at Lebanon during fighting
The Chief Military Advocate General, Brigadier-General Avihai Mandelblit, stated on Monday that the IDF's use of cluster bombs during the Second Lebanon War complied with international humanitarian law.
Mandelblit added that no measures will be taken against IDF officers in connection with the use of cluster bombs.
A cluster bomb is a bomb that ejects a number of smaller submunitions ("bomblets") during explosion. Theses bomblets usually go off shortly after the launch.
According to eyewitness accounts collected by Ynet after the war, close to 1,200 cluster bombs were fired at Lebanon, towards areas from which Hizbullah was operating, during the first days of the fighting.
Another 1,200 cluster bombs were launched at Lebanon in the last two weeks of the war in summer of 2006.
Several months after the war the IDF launched an investigation aimed at examining whether cluster bombs were used contrary to procedure. Military officials explained at the time that although no formal order was issued against the use of cluster bombs, the use of such bombs required a series of authorizations, in a bid to minimize the number of civilian casualties.
However, the investigation revealed that while the air force refrained from firing cluster bombs, the artillery corps did fire such bombs, apparently without obtaining the necessary approvals.
The IDF's use of cluster bombs was also the subject of harsh international criticism, with UN officials claiming that neutralizing the bombs that are still in Lebanese territory could take many months.
