Israeli Troop Pullout Soldiers Leave, But Deadly Duds Remain
It took almost a month and a half, but on Sunday, the last of Israel's ground troops -- sent in on July 13 in an attempt to eradicate Hezbollah -- left southern Lebanon. A contingent still remains in the disputed Shebaa Farms region, and the air and ground blockades are still in effect, but Israeli ground troops are now back on the Israeli side of the border.
But even if the Israeli troops are now in safety, the search continues for the up to 350,000 unexploded cluster bombs that remain scattered across the Lebanese landscape, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Indeed, the explosives continue to claim lives or cause serious injury on a daily basis.
Israel, however, is not doing all it can to help the United Nations find the unexploded munitions. Although Israeli officials have provided the UN with maps of the affected areas, Chris Clark, who heads the UN Mine Action Coordination Center's efforts in Lebanon, called those maps "absolutely useless," according to the AFP. The maps he has been given, he says, consist of little more than satellite images marked with circles denoting the areas bombed. "We need the target coordinates," he said.
A high-ranking Israeli official told DER SPIEGEL that while the army has access to more detailed maps, it cannot make them public because they could reveal the extent of the information Israeli intelligence has gathered on Hezbollah.
Israel has been harshly criticized for using the cluster bombs -- essentially shells filled with a number of smaller bomblets, many of which did not explode as designed. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland condemned dropping of cluster bombs as "shocking and completely immoral." The Israeli government has defended itself, saying cluster bombs "are legal under international law, and their use conforms to international standards." Their use in or near population centers, however, is forbidden under international law.
American officials also reacted with unease about Israel's use of cluster munitions. According to a New York Times report, the US State Department is investigating whether Israel inappropriately used American-made cluster bombs in populated areas during its month-long campaign in Lebanon. The United States is said to supply Israel with cluster munitions with the understanding that their use be limited to certain types of military emergencies.
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