Israel has not signed
the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. At the treaty signing conference in Ottawa,
Israel’s Ambassador David Sultan, attending as an observer, stated:
“Due to our unique situation in the Middle East involving an ongoing
threat of hostilities as well as terrorist threats...we are still obliged to
maintain antipersonnel landmines as necessary for self-defense.... Israel,
regrettably is unable to sign the treaty until effective alternative measures
are available to ensure the protection of civilians threatened on a daily basis
by terrorists and to ensure the protection of Israeli forces operating in areas
of armed conflict.”[1]
Prior to the Mine Ban Treaty signing at Ottawa, the Israeli Foreign Minister
stated his support for the treaty, but said that “we have difficulty
implementing the initiative because of our own problems along our
borders.”[2]
Israel participated as an observer in the treaty preparatory meetings
throughout 1997, but did not attend the Oslo treaty negotiations. It did not
endorse the pro-treaty Brussels Declaration in June 1997. Moreover, Israel was
one of just ten countries which abstained from voting on the 1996 UN General
Assembly Resolution urging states to pursue vigorously an international
agreement banning antipersonnel mines; one of eighteen which abstained from
voting on the 1997 UNGA Resolution inviting all states to sign the Mine Ban
Treaty; and one of nineteen countries which abstained from voting on the 1998
UNGA resolution welcoming new signatories to the treaty and urging its full
implementation.
Israel is a party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and
the Protocol II on landmines, but has not yet ratified the amended Protocol II
(1996). Israel states that its use of antipersonnel landmines for self-defense
purposes is in accordance with the requirements of the
CCW.[3] It is a member of the
Conference on Disarmament, but has not been a noted supporter of efforts to
negotiate a mine transfer ban in that forum.
Production, Transfer and Stockpiling
During the Mine Ban Treaty signing conference in
December 1997, Israel stated that it “does not produce APLs [antipersonnel
landmines].”[4] At a UN
General Assembly meeting on landmines on 20 October 1998, the Israeli
representative said that Israel had ceased the production of antipersonnel
landmines.[5] It is not clear
when Israel stopped production, and whether it now has a formal ban or
moratorium in place. Earlier, Israel had instituted a two year moratorium on
the export of antipersonnel landmines in 1994; in 1996, it was renewed for three
years. Israel said in December 1997 that it was considering extending the
moratorium indefinitely, but that has not
occurred.[6]
Israel had in the past been a significant antipersonnel landmine producer and
exporter. Israel is known to have produced the M12A1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and
No. 6 ( a copy of the U.S. Claymore) antipersonnel
mines.[7] Israel has produced
and exported antipersonnel mines since at least the 1970s, when it provided some
to South Africa.[8]
Manufacturers have included Israel Military Industries (IMI), based in Ramat
Hasharon, and Tel Aviv-based Explosive Industries Ltd. (EIL). Nations listed in
the trade press as acquiring IMI mines include Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nigeria and Zaire.[9]
EIL’s No. 4 plastic antipersonnel mine was found by British deminers in
the Falklands/Malvinas.[10]
Israel has also imported landmines. It has imported no antipersonnel landmines
from the U.S., but has imported over 1.9 million antitank
mines.[11]
Israel is believed to possess a substantial inventory of antipersonnel mines.
Details on the size and composition are not available.
Use
Israel has used mines extensively in combat, and
for border protection. Israel’s borders with Jordan and Syria are mined,
as are the territories occupied in the 1967 war. In addition, both Israeli
forces and non-state actors, notably Hezbollah, are using mines in the
Israeli-occupied zone in south Lebanon. Most recently, in February 1999,
Lebanon accused Israel of laying landmines along a fence in the village of
Arnoun.[12] The Israel/Lebanon
Monitoring Group is examining the matter.
Mine Action
There are an estimated 260,000 mines in Israel,
mostly along the borders, and the occupied territories. Israel and Jordan in
1997 carried out a combined project of clearing minefields along their border.
It is unclear if any systematic mine clearance is now underway in Israel or
whether Israel has undertaken any mine awareness programs directed at civilians.
Internationally, Israel contributed $98,000 to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund
for Assistance in Mine
Clearance.[13] Israel has
increasingly become involved in marketing its mine clearance products. Israel
has considerable expertise in demining and has offered its assistance to
mine-affected countries in the realm of mine surveys, mine awareness activities,
and transfer of mine clearance
equipment.[14] It is engaged in
mine clearance and mine awareness operations in
Angola.[15]
Landmine Casualties/Survivor Assistance
Civilians have fallen casualty to uncleared
landmines in the Golan Heights, West Bank and other
areas.[16] (See special report
on Palestine). Israel maintains rehabilitation programs for its disabled
veterans and their families, including medical services, psychological
counseling, education, and vocational
rehabilitation.[17] No
information was available regarding similar programs for civilian victims.
[1]Ambassador David
Sultan’s Address to the Plenary Session of the Landmine Conference,
Ottawa, Canada, 4 December 1997.
[2] “Israel to Attend
Landmine Conference in Ottawa,” Reuters, 11 November 1997.
[3] Statement by H.E. Mr.
Eytan Bentsur, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before the
Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, 4 September 1997.
[4] Statement of the Israel
Delegation, Ottawa Forum for Mine Action, December 1997, document
1.12.97/17119.
[5] United Nations General
Assembly Press Release GA/DIS/3115, 20 October 1998.
[6] Ambassador David
Sultan’s Address to the Plenary Session of the Landmine Conference,
Ottawa, Canada, 4 December 1997.
[7] U.S. Department of
Defense Mine Facts database.
[8] James Adams, The
Unnatural Alliance: Israel and South Africa (London: Quartet, 1984), p.
93.
[9] Cited in Human Rights
Watch Arms Project/Physicians for Human Rights, Landmines: A Deadly
Legacy (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1993), p. 94.
[11] U.S. Army Armament,
Munitions and Chemical Command data, analyzed by Human Rights Watch Arms
Division.
[12] “U.S. Department
of State - Press Statement by James B. Foley, Deputy Spokesman,” M2
Presswire, 25 February 1999.
[13] See
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/vtf.htm.
[14] Israel Delegation,
Israeli Capabilities in Demining and Rehabilitation of Victims, Ottawa
Forum for Mine Action, December 1997.
[15] Statement by H.E. Mr.
Eytan Bentsur, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before the
Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, 4 September 1997.
[16]Hidden Killers: The
Global Landmine Crisis, U.S. Department of State, 1994.
[17] Ambassador David
Sultan’s Address to the Plenary Session of the Landmine Conference, 4
December 1997.
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