Key developments
since March 1999: In May 2000, Israel withdrew from south Lebanon, where
both Israeli forces and armed non-state actors have used mines extensively. In
May 1999, Israel extended its export moratorium for three years. In November
1999 the State Comptroller’s Office released an important report on
landmines that concluded, among other things, that 350 Israeli antipersonnel
minefields were no longer vital to security.
Mine Ban Policy
Israel has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In
November 1999 Israel’s representative to the UN stated that Israel
“reserved the right to use landmines to protect its
citizens.”[1] Israeli
diplomats cite its geographic circumstances, the constant threat of hostilities,
and the necessity to protect its armed forces and citizens as factors underlying
Israel’s policy.
Israel was one of twelve observer delegations at the First Meeting of States
Parties of the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo, Mozambique in May 1999. At this
event, the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Department of the
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs further articulated Israel’s view:
The State of Israel whole-heartedly supports the ultimate goal of this
Convention.... It is also actively seeking to forge a new reality with its
neighbors...that would render the need for such devices, and the pain and
suffering they cause, obsolete.... Israel supports a gradual process in which
each state will begin doing its part to reduce the indiscriminate use of
landmines, toward the eventual goal of a total ban. We believe the best way to
achieve this lies along the path we have already set with our neighbors: Working
within the framework of regional cooperation. We believe that the first step
should be the elimination of the production of APLs [antipersonnel landmines] to
be followed by finding appropriate replacements for landmines and then, later
on, when security circumstances allow, a total ban on the use of
APLs.[2]
Israel abstained on the vote on the December 1999 UN General Assembly
resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had on similar resolutions in
the past.
Israel attended four of the ban treaty Intersessional Standing Committee of
Experts meetings -- on Mine Clearance and Victim Assistance in September 1999,
and on Mine Action Technologies and Stockpile Destruction in December 1999, all
held in Geneva.
Between March and September 1998, the State Comptroller’s Office
conducted an audit of the Israel Defense Forces policies on mine laying, and
issued a detailed report in
1999.[3] The report reflects
the seriousness with which Israel addresses the landmine issue, a commendable
degree of transparency, and a willingness to examine critically a wide range of
military institutions and practices related to landmines.
Israel is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its original
Protocol II on landmines. Israeli officials said in May 1999, in December 1999
and again in May 2000 that Israel was in the final stages of approval for
accession to Amended Protocol
II.[4] Israel has already said
that Israeli use of mines “remains strictly within the constraints set by
the amended Protocol II of the
CCW.”[5] Israel attended
the First Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December
1999 in Geneva, but did not make a statement to the plenary. In a meeting with
members of the ICBL at that time, an Israeli official said that Israel had some
concerns about the provisions of Article 5, Paragraph 2 (b) of the amended
protocol.[6] This provision
prohibits the use of non-self-destructing AP mines unless “such weapons
are cleared before the area is abandoned, unless the area is turned over to the
forces of another State which accepts responsibility for the maintenance of the
protections required by this article and the subsequent clearance of those
weapons.”
Israel’s full compliance with Protocol II is called into question by
the findings of the 1999 audit by the State Comptroller’s Office. The
State Comptroller’s report notes that “the protocol has not been
inserted into [IDF] orders and has not been published by the IDF in
Hebrew.” The report also details inadequate marking and monitoring
measures taken by Israel in the Occupied Territories and Golan
Heights.[7]
Israel is a member of the Conference on Disarmament and supports the idea of
negotiations on a global export ban at that venue.
Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling
Israel has produced and exported AP mines in the
past.[8] Since December 1997,
Israel has frequently stated that it “does not” produce
antipersonnel mines.[9] Israel
is the only non-signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty that has declared a halt to AP
mine production since the beginning of the Ottawa Process in 1996. It is
unknown when production stopped, and it is unclear if a formal moratorium or ban
is in place. An Israeli official told the ICBL in December 1999 that Israel
does not rule out production of AP mines in the future if the situation requires
it.[10]
In 1994, Israel instituted a three-year unilateral moratorium on the export
of AP mines. The moratorium was renewed for three years in 1996, and was
renewed again for three years in May
1999.[11] The size and
composition of Israel’s current AP mine stockpile are not known. One
Israeli official has said the current stockpile is adequate for responding to a
crisis.[12] Although Israel has
said it will need to have alternatives in place before it can give up AP mines,
it apparently does not have an active program seeking
alternatives.[13]
Use
Israel has employed antipersonnel mines along its
borders, near military camps and training areas, and near sensitive areas like
water pump stations and electric power facilities. As the peace process evolved
in the region, some minefields have been transferred as part of territory
returned to Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian control.
Both Israel and non-state actors, notably Hezbollah, have used antipersonnel
mines in south Lebanon. When Israel withdrew from the occupied zone in late May
2000, it gave the UN detailed maps delineating the Israeli-planted minefields in
south Lebanon.[14] Some reports
indicate that the IDF and its ally, the South Lebanon Army, used antipersonnel
mines in southern Lebanon in anticipation of the withdrawal. This is supported
by a number of mine incidents in areas of southern Lebanon that had not been
known to be mine-affected. For example, on 16 January 2000 a mine in the
Kfarhouna area in Jezzine Cadaa, a village from which Israeli forces recently
withdrew, killed two
persons.[15]
The United Nations Mine Action Service conducted an emergency assessment
mission to southern Lebanon from 26 May-1 June 2000. It reported that
“many of the 80+ positions evacuated by the IDF and the de-facto forces
(DDF) are suspected to be contaminated by nuisance minefields and booby
traps.... Most minefields and dangerous areas remain unfenced and
unmarked.”[16] One report
stated that UN peacekeepers estimated that Israel and the SLA left 70,000
antipersonnel mines “in and around their abandoned compounds” in
southern Lebanon.[17] A 21 June
2000 news account said that, according to United Nations experts, there are
about 130,000 mines and other explosive devices scattered over the area formerly
occupied by Israel.[18]
In December 1999 an Israeli official stated that Hezbollah had continued to
use mines and improvised explosive devices regularly during the year. He noted
that Israel would give consideration to both sides refraining from use of mines,
but that the other side
refuses.[19]
The Landmine Problem
The U.S. State Department has estimated that there
are 260,000 mines in Israel.[20]
The mines are mostly along the borders with Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and
territories captured in the 1967 war (i.e. West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan
Heights). Aside from mines emplaced by the IDF, this figure includes mines laid
prior to the establishment of Israel by the British and during subsequent
conflicts by Jordan and
Syria.[21]
In 1999, the Israeli State Comptroller's Office published an audit of mine
use policies and practices. The audit states that there are 350 antipersonnel
minefields emplaced by the IDF and other belligerent parties that are no longer
“vital to the security of the state.” This includes minefields
within the state of Israel proper, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, the State Comptroller noted that an unspecified number of
minefields in the Jordan Valley and the Arava are “also no longer
vital.”[22]
According to an IDF General Staff order titled “Laying and Removal of
Mines,” any minefield and any area that is mined or suspected of being
mined shall be fenced off and posted with warning signs. The IDF is required to
check the fencing and sign posting of the minefields and the areas suspected of
being mined at least once a year, in some instances every six
months.[23] The State
Comptroller’s audit found that some minefields are not properly marked or
fenced and are not inspected within the prescribed time. This finding includes
minefields in Israel proper, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and areas controlled by
Israel in the Golan Heights. For
example:[24]
Eight minefields and areas suspected of being mined on and at the foot of
the Golan Heights (old Syrian mines) were not fenced off. Six of the above
areas are in the Jordan Park area.
In fifty-nine of the seventy-six of the minefields examined, no external
inspection was conducted within six months after the previous inspection, as
required. In thirty-six minefields, no such inspection was performed in the
course of the year.
The cumulative perimeter of the areas suspected of being mined within the
Southern Command region was about 350 kilometers; in view of the limitations in
resources and order of battle, the required fencing and sign posting of the
areas suspected of being mined was impossible to carry out.
Data supplied by the Israel Defense Forces show that between January 1997
and May 1998, nine cases of mine explosions occurred as the result of
malfunctions caused by failure to obey or to comply with rules. In two of those
cases, humans were injured.
In July 1998, the Israel Defense Forces
Department of Field Security considered the issue of unmarked minefields and
concluded that “minefields [that] constitute part of an obstacle laid by
our forces on the front lines...there is no possibility of marking them on
civilian maps. Regarding minefields that were laid by enemy forces...there is
no impediment to marking them on the maps. Regarding minefields located in the
vicinity of sensitive sites, such as electrical power stations, water pumps and
the like, there is no impediment to marking them on the
maps.”[25]
Part of the State Comptroller’s report remains classified but the part
of the report publicly released included recommendations for operational,
doctrinal, and logistical procedural
adjustments.[26] These
recommendations are in the process of being examined by the Israeli
military.
Mine Action
In January 1999, the division of Finances,
Equipment, and Property in the Israeli Ministry of Defense stated that it was
examining the possibility of IDF evacuating unnecessary minefields, as well as
adjacent areas suspected of being mined. To advance the process, the State
Comptroller recommended the appointment of an inter-ministerial committee to
examine all aspects of the subject, and to guide government
policy.[27] There are four
companies registered with the government as providers of mine clearance
services.
Israel’s demining capabilities are quite significant. Indigenously
developed mine clearing equipment includes: AP mine safety shoes; a lightweight
in-stride mine extractor for surface munitions clearance; a teleoperation kit to
convert a vehicle into a remotely controlled unit; a track-width mine plow; an
on-board anti-magnetic mine actuating device; a highly mobile rear-engine four
wheeled all terrain vehicle; ground penetrating radar; and, a twin roller bank
system coupled to a heavy-tracked
tractor.[28]
In addition, Israel’s Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) is in
the process of developing: a tree and shrub clearing shredder; a mini-flail; a
lightweight flail mounted on a small remote-operated tractor; a self-powered
heavy flail; a standard deep-rooter; and a soil combine-sifter-crusher.[29]
In 1997, Israel and Jordan carried out a combined project of clearing
minefields along their shared border. Israel is currently involved in a
multilateral humanitarian mine clearance project with Jordan and has offered the
Jordanian engineering corps additional mine clearing equipment and safety
gear.[30] In addition, Israel
has offered to fund a mine victims rehabilitation program and is willing to
provide technical training assistance for its medical
staff.[31] Four Jordanian
landmine victims, three adults and a child, have undergone extensive treatment
and rehabilitation at Israel’s Beit Levenstein and Schneider’s
Children’s Hospital.[32]
Since 1996, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been engaged in
mine clearance and mine awareness operations in Angola. An Israeli NGO, Aid
Without Borders, conducts mine awareness education programs in Angola under the
auspices of UNICEF. Aid Without Borders has also been active in Kosovo where it
taught mine awareness to children in conjunction with the British Mines Advisory
Group.[33]
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also operates a joint landmine
assistance program with Canada in Guatemala. Canada’s sphere of
responsibility in the program includes both physical and psychological
rehabilitation, while Israel is involved with the economic rehabilitation of
mine victims. This economic rehabilitation consists of encouraging and teaching
landmine survivors to establish and successfully run independent
micro-enterprises or other small
businesses.[34]
Weapons and explosives are part of daily life in Israel. During
“special terrorism awareness” sessions, Israeli school children are
shown detailed pictorial images of various landmines and are taught to avoid
them.[35] In addition, all
military graduates in Israel possess considerable awareness of mines as a result
of their army service.
Landmine Casualties
Civilians have fallen casualty to landmines in the
Golan Heights, West Bank, and other areas (see separate reports on Golan and
Palestine). A detailed statistical record of landmine casualties is currently
unavailable, as victims of landmines are treated under the general category of
“Victims of Hostile Activities.” Therefore, there is no specific
statistical category reserved for landmine casualties. However, the 1999 State
Comptroller’s Report noted that “between January 1997 and May 1998,
nine cases of mine explosions occurred as the result of malfunctions caused by
failure to obey or to comply with rules.... [Consequently,] there was one death
and seven
injuries.”[36]
Although official detailed statistics on mine incidents are sparse, the
Israeli media occasionally reports on mine casualties suffered by soldiers. For
example, on 5 June 2000, the media reported that an Israeli soldier was severely
wounded while clearing minefields along the Israeli-Lebanese
border.[37]
In April 1999, Israel hosted an international
workshop on the rehabilitation of landmine
victims.[39] Israel’s
comprehensive Bituach Leumi, or National Insurance Service, completely covers
the cost of treatment for victims of landmines. Victims of landmines in Israel
(whether citizens, tourists, students, or anyone who has entered the country
legally[40]) are included in the
Health Services clause of “Victims of Hostile Activities,” and as
such, are provided extensive treatment. This treatment includes an initial
evaluation, subsequent operations, and extensive orthopedic rehabilitation.
Patients are provided with psychological therapy and counseling, as well as
occupational, speech, and physical therapy. They also receive an appropriate
prosthetic device, or devices.
Israel also provides extensive vocational training and outpatient treatment.
The Ministry of Work and Social Welfare, the National Health Insurance
Institute, and the General Sick Fund (Israel’s largest HMO) jointly run
vocational schools for landmine victims. After an initial assessment by the
vocational school, the patient selects a course of interest, and upon successful
completion of a final exam, receives a professional degree. Israel’s
comprehensive rehabilitative vocational facilities enable the landmine victim to
return to the workplace, providing him or her with a sense of success and
inclusion in society.
Additional benefits to landmine survivors include a monthly pension, and the
ability to purchase a car without tax. If the patient is unable or does not
wish to drive, a transportation stipend can be provided. Israel also has
parking spaces reserved for handicapped people, and most new buildings have
elevators and ramps for handicapped and disabled people.
Medical centers that are involved in the treatment of civilian landmine
victims and survivors are: Beit Levenstein in Rannana, Tel Hashomer in Tel
Aviv-Yaffo, Tel Aviv University Medical Center, and Schneider’s
Children’s Hospital in Petach Tikvah.
Soldiers wounded by landmines are provided with the same comprehensive
rehabilitative treatment as civilians, with two exceptions: injured soldiers
receive treatment from army medical teams instead of civilian doctors, and
receive a higher monthly pension.[41]
[1] Statement of Nimrod Barkran,
Representative of Israel at UN General Assembly First Committee, UN Press
Release GA/DIS/3162, 8 November
1999. [2] Statement by Mr. Giora Becher,
Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Department of the Israeli Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to the FMSP of the Mine Ban Treaty, Maputo, Mozambique, May
1999. Hereafter cited as “Becher Statement at FMSP, May
1999.” [3] State Comptroller's
Report No. 50 A, for the Year 1999, “Mine Laying in the Israel Defense
Forces,” (Published in Hebrew and translated unofficially) Israel
government printing office, Jerusalem. Hereafter cited as “State
Comptroller’s Report,
1999.” [4] For May 1999: Becher
Statement at FMSP. For December 1999: ICBL meeting with members of Israeli
delegation to Conference on Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 17 December 1999. For
May 2000: Interview with Israeli official, May
2000. [5] Becher Statement at FMSP, May
1999. [6] ICBL meeting with members of
Israeli delegation to Conference on Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 17 December
1999. Notes taken by Stephen Goose, Human Rights
Watch. [7] State Comptroller’s
Report, 1999. [8] See Landmine Monitor
Report 1999, p. 889 for details. [9] The
first known public announcement was the Statement of the Israel Delegation,
Ottawa Forum for Mine Action, December 1997, document 1.12.97/17119. See also
Becher Statement at FMSP, May 1999. [10]
ICBL meeting with members of Israeli delegation to Conference on Amended
Protocol II, Geneva, 17 December
1999. [11] Becher Statement at FMSP, May
1999. [12] ICBL meeting with members of
Israeli delegation to Conference on Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 17 December
1999. [13]
Ibid. [14] The UN Mine Action Service
told Landmine Monitor that the IDF handed over four maps and four files with
details on areas mined by Israel in south Lebanon. Email from Hemi Morete,
UNMAS, to Landmine Monitor/Human Rights Watch, 14 July 2000. See also,
“Israel Hands Over Landmine Field Maps to UNIFIL,” Jerusalem Voice
of Israel (state-funded radio) in Hebrew, 1300 GMT, 31 May 2000; “UN
Experts to Meet Lebanese Army over Landmines in South,” Agence-France
Presse, 31 May 2000. [15] Lebanese daily
newspapers on 17, 18, and 19 January 2000: ANNAHAR, Al-Safir, L’orient le
Jour, Daily Star. [16] UNMAS, "The
Landmine/UXO Problem in South Lebanon: Preliminary UNMAS Assessment Report," 6
June 2000. [17] Henry McDonald,
“Seeds of Death Litter Lebanon’s Liberated Fields,” The
Observer, 18 June 2000. [18]
Agence-France Presse, Sidon, Lebanon, 21 June
2000. [19] ICBL meeting with members of
Israeli delegation to Conference on Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 17 December
1999. [20] U.S. Department of State,
“Hidden Killers,” September 1998, p.
A-1. [21] State Comptroller’s
Report, 1999. [22]
Ibid. [23]
Ibid. [24] All examples
Ibid. [25] Currently, this is only
accepted in “principle.”
Ibid. [26]
Ibid. [27]
Ibid. [28] Most of the equipment was
evaluated or used by the IDF, U.S. Army during “Desert Storm” and by
the Canadian and Swedish armies. Stated by the Israel Delegation, Israeli
Capabilities in Demining and Rehabilitation of Victims, Ottawa Forum for Mine
Action, December 1997. [29] Israel
Delegation, Israeli Capabilities in Demining and Rehabilitation of Victims,
Ottawa Forum for Mine Action, December
1997. [30] Interviews with Israeli
officials, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, May and June
2000. [31] Interview with Israeli
government official, June
2000. [32]Interview with Professor Chaim
Ring, Deputy Director of Lowenstein Rehabilitation Center, Beit Levenstein
Hospital, Rannana, 24 May 2000. [33]
Interview with Erez T. Yanuv, Founder of Aid Without Borders, Jerusalem, 1 June
2000. [34] Interview with Benny Abileah,
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem, 1 June
2000. [35]Interview with Professor Chaim
Ring, Deputy Director of Lowenstein Rehabilitation Center, Beit Levenstein
Hospital, Rannana, 24 May 2000. [36]
State Comptroller's Report,
1999. [37]David Rudge, “Soldier
Wounded in Mine-Clearing Accident,” Jerusalem Post, 6 June
2000. [38] The majority of information
for this section is from an interview with Professor Chaim Ring, Deputy Director
of Lowenstein Rehabilitation Center, Beit Levenstein Hospital, Rannana, 24 May
2000. [39] Becher Statement at FMSP, May
1999. [40] Iituach Leumi website,
http://www.btl.gov.il/English/eng_index.asp. [41]
“Department of Rehabilitation,” State of Israel Ministry of Defense
official publication, Tel Aviv, April 1996.
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