Human Rights Watch challenges Israel's use of cluster bombs in Lebanon

Human Rights Watch challenges Israel's use of cluster bombs in Lebanon, violation of Lebanese airspace continues

Sunday February 17, 2008 13:19 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News saed at imemc dot org

The internationally-renowned organization Human Rights Watch has demanded an independent inquiry into Israel's use of cluster bombs during its 2006 invasion of Lebanon. An internal investigation carried out by the Israeli government recently released its findings, concluding that Israel did not violate international law when it dropped several thousand cluster bombs containing millions of bomblets all over southern Lebanon.

One of the lead authors of the Human Rights Watch report stated, "Ninety percent of the (bombing) strikes occurred in the last three days (of the war when) Israel knew a ceasefire was imminent. Many, many of those strikes occurred on towns and villages across south Lebanon. Munitions left behind by those attacks continue to kill civilians today." Already, over 200 people, both Lebanese civilians and internationals, have lost limbs or been killed by the unexploded bomblets left by the cluster bombs.

The report was released at the beginning of a conference in New Zealand that was convened for the purpose of building a campaign to end the use of cluster bombs worldwide. In fact, cluster bombs are illegal under the current laws of warfare as stated in international law.

The title of the report is "Flooding South Lebanon: Israel's Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006”, and it contains data on hundreds of "indiscriminate and disproportionate cluster munitions attacks on Lebanon."

Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations to head up an investigation into the Israeli use of cluster bombs in Lebanon, to see if Israeli forces deliberately targeted civilian populations, as many of the Lebanese victims and their families are claiming.

If that is the case, Israel could be forced to stand trial in an international court of justice. But the Israeli government, along with the US government, have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the International Court of Justice, so the decision would hold no sway in those countries. The two are virtually the only countries in the world that have not agreed to the legitimacy of the international court body.

UN Agency in Lebanon complains of Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace

Saturday February 16, 2008 23:30 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News saed at imemc dot org

The Interim United Nations Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has had bases in the country since the Israel-Lebanon War in the early 1980s, has released a report accusing Israel of multiple severe violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

Since a month-long invasion of Lebanon two years ago that left over 1200 Lebanese people dead and much of the country's infrastructure destroyed, Israel has violated Lebanese airspace and territory on a regular basis, according to the UNIFIL report.

In addition, UNIFIL officials submitted a strongly-worded letter to the Israeli government denouncing the violations, and calling for them to cease.

Israeli military officials admit to having stepped up operations on the Lebanon-Israel border following the assassination of Lebanese militia leader Imad Mugniyah last week, but didn't admit to earlier violations.

In the letter submitted to the Israeli occupation government, UNIFIL Commander General Claudio Graziano stated, "We discussed the situation in South Lebanon, in addition to bilateral ties with the Lebanese Army, and we informed the premier that everything was under control in the southern region."

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