Israelis Investigate Self--Find Self Innocent
Israeli Cluster Bombing Ruled Within the Law Military Ends Probe of Strikes on Lebanon
By Josef Federman Associated Press Tuesday, December 25, 2007; A18
JERUSALEM, Dec. 24 -- Israeli military prosecutors have determined that Israel's use of cluster bombs during last year's war in Lebanon did not violate international humanitarian law, the army said Monday, closing an investigation into a practice that has drawn heavy criticism from the United Nations and international human rights groups.
The investigation determined that Israel's use of the weapons, which open in flight and scatter dozens of bomblets, was a "concrete military necessity." No legal action would be taken against anyone in connection with use of the weapons, it said.
. . . Whenever using cluster bombs, Israeli forces were "respecting the laws of armed conflict . . . and preserving the ethical values" of the Israeli military, the statement said.
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