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Key developments since May 2001: In June 2002, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated his strong opposition to laying mines along a new fence being constructed on the West Bank. Israel submitted its initial annual report for CCW Amended Protocol II, the first time Israel has made detailed mine related information available to the international community.
Israel has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In explaining Israel’s abstention in voting on the November 2001 UN General Assembly resolution supporting universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, representatives said that Israel “is still required to resort to defensive operations against terrorists in order to prevent attacks on its civilians, therefore, we remain at present, unable to support an immediate enactment of a total ban on landmines. Israel supports a gradual regional process towards the eventual goal of a total ban on landmines, based on peaceful relations and regional cooperation.”[1]
Israel did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Nicaragua in September 2001, but sent a Geneva-based representative to the meetings of Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committees in January and May 2002.
Israel became a party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in April 2001 and submitted its first national report in November 2001, as required under Article 13. Israel attended the third annual meeting of States Parties to Amended Protocol II and the second CCW review conference in December 2001.
Israel has not enacted any additional domestic legislation to implement the provisions of Amended Protocol II as it believes that existing legislation is adequate, including export controls and Israel Defense Force (IDF) regulations for laying, marking, and disposing of landmines.[2] Israel states that the IDF is aware of the provisions of the protocol, and their instructions and operating procedures have been reviewed in order to verify compliance. Any violation of these terms may result in an IDF investigation and possible disciplinary or penal measures. The IDF military law school maintains that the provisions of the CCW and Amended Protocol II remain integral parts of the curriculum, and IDF personnel receive lectures and workshops on this issue on a regular basis.[3]
In November 2001, Israel again stated that it has “ceased all production of antipersonnel mines,” but the date of the cessation has still not been made public.[4] It remains unclear if this constitutes a permanent ban on production, or a moratorium pending future developments.
Israel declared a moratorium on the export of antipersonnel mines in 1994. In 1999, the moratorium was extended until 2002.[5] A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official informed Landmine Monitor in July 2002 that the moratorium will be extended as soon as possible.[6]
In July 2001, a report required under the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act (“655 report”) for fiscal year 2000, noted that the U.S. Department of State approved a direct commercial sale of $218,339 (license value) of “Mines Anti-Personnel” to Israel. The State Department corrected this entry in September 2001 to read “Mine Anti-Tank.”[7]
The size and composition of Israel’s antipersonnel mine stockpile remains unknown, but Landmine Monitor received information which indicates that Israel stockpiles remotely delivered antipersonnel mines, as well as hand-emplace mines.[8]
There were no credible allegations in the reporting period (since May 2001) that the IDF had deployed any additional antipersonnel mines along its borders or used antipersonnel mines during military operations in Palestinian areas. It would appear that the role of antipersonnel mines is not significant in the on-going conflict between Israel and armed Palestinian groups. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told Landmine Monitor in December 2001 that antipersonnel mines are not part of the Israel Defense Force doctrine in this conflict, and that antipersonnel mines have not been used by the IDF.[9]
In June 2002, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Knesset members that he “strongly opposes laying mines” as part of the construction of a new fence between Israel and the West Bank. When asked if the fence would be mined, Sharon reportedly said he strongly opposed this since the population in many areas was dense and included women and children. “Can we have them being blown up by mines?” he asked.[10]
A controversial incident occurred on 22 November 2001, when five Palestinian children were killed by an explosive device while walking to school in the village of Khan Younis (Khan Yunes) in the Gaza Strip. The type of device or the means of its detonation is uncertain. A Palestinian source claimed the device was a booby-trap.[11] If this incident was the result of Israeli use of a booby-trap, it raises questions about Israel’s compliance with CCW Amended Protocol II.[12] Explosive booby-traps are considered antipersonnel mines, and therefore banned, under the Mine Ban Treaty.
An initial report of the incident cited in subsequent media accounts attribute the explosion to an unexploded IDF tank shell.[13] Radio Israel reported that the IDF investigation into the incident had “revealed serious flaws in the planting of the ordnance that killed the children,” implying that the IDF had planted the device.[14] The U.S. Department of State attributed the cause of the explosion to unexploded ordnance.[15]
Israel’s Minister of Defense, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, said that the explosion had occurred in an unpopulated area where Palestinian gunmen had carried out shooting attacks on nearby Jewish settlements and IDF outposts.[16] According to the office of the Israel army spokesperson:
From an initial examination carried out by the Commander of the South command, Maj. Gen. Doron Almog, the possibility arises that the children were killed as a result of tempering [sic] with an explosive charge that an IDF force placed in the sandbag post that was used for shooting and terrorist activity against our forces. This post is placed in open terrain, outside of the residential area.... The IDF spokesperson emphasizes that the activity in the open terrain was aimed against terrorists and again expresses his condolences for the death of the children.”[17]
The spokesperson also indicated that the explosive charge was placed outside a residential area, but Palestinian sources claimed the weapon was planted on the route the five boys usually took to school. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, located in the Gaza Strip, “The explosion occurred on a path that rings an agricultural area, with several houses barely 100 meters away. According to relatives of the victims and local residents, the boys met at that spot every day before going to school, and the path was regularly used by the community.”[18]
In another disputed incident, on 15 March 2001, a Palestinian woman, three of her children, and her nephew were killed when their donkey cart ran over a mine in the Al-Boureij area of the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian authorities claimed Israeli soldiers had planted the mine near a Palestinian security post. Israel denied the charges, and instead insisted that Palestinians had planted the mine to target Israeli armored vehicles.[19]
Landmine Monitor Report 2001 reported information provided by Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights monitoring group, that an IDF unit had used antipersonnel mines in March and April 2001 near the village of al-Khader, west of Bethlehem. In a late July 2001 letter to Landmine Monitor, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not directly address the al-Khader incident but indicated that it “strongly rejects allegations” that Israel used mines in a manner contrary to their obligations under CCW Amended Protocol II.[20] In a December 2001 interview, Israeli representatives stated that the mines at Al-Khader were not laid by the IDF and were placed in earlier conflicts.[21]
In response to criticisms and recommendations contained in a 1999 audit conducted by the Israeli State Comptroller’s Office into mine laying practices by the IDF, particularly with respect to fencing and marking,[22] an Israeli Foreign Ministry official stated that “improvements have been made in practices” and that new fencing has been erected around minefields in the areas of the Golan Heights controlled by Israel.[23] The U.S. Department of State, citing the government of Israel, noted, “minefields on the Golan Heights are clearly marked.”[24]
Israel is a mine-affected country.[25] Israel has used mines along its borders, near military camps and training areas, and near infrastructure including water pump stations and electric power facilities.
No systematic humanitarian mine clearance took place during the reporting period by any actor. The IDF and its commercial Israeli contractors continue to clear mines, bombs, and unexploded ordnance on an emergency basis, and on a more frequent basis when circumstances permit.
With regard to mine risk education, Israel states that it requires organizers of field trips (such as those conducted by schools, youth movements, work places and private citizens) to coordinate their routes with the relevant IDF command in order receive briefings regarding the location of actual and suspected minefields in the area. Other preventive measures include warning signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English placed on the perimeters of minefields, as well as commercially available maps issued by the Israeli Mapping Center that indicate the topographic location of minefields in the area. In its Article 13 report, Israel stated that “further information regarding minefield locations is provided by local municipalities to the general population upon land rights and use inquiries.”[26]
Israel has also been involved in mine risk education internationally. In 2001, it upgraded its involvement in a mine awareness program that it participates in with UNICEF in Angola, by providing funds for four Israeli volunteers to operate in the area.[27]
Israel has not provided any other financial or other assistance to mine action activities internationally in the reporting period. The Maavarim Civil Engineering Company has engaged in mine clearance operations in the past both domestically and internationally, with some projects supported by the Israel Ministry of Defense.[28]
No record of civilian landmine victims is available for inside the state of Israel because mine victims are listed under the umbrella category of “Victims of Hostile Activities.” Its Article 13 report notes that Israel “has vast experience in the field of rehabilitation, with over 2000 traumatic amputations within the IDF and several dozens of civilian victims to landmines, UXOs, improvised explosives and other devices....”[29]
In November 2001, the U.S. Department of State noted, “The Government of Israel reports that there have been no landmine/UXO casualties within the Green Line or on the Golan Heights since at least January 1, 2000.”[30]
The Israeli National Insurance Services (Bituach Leumi) cover the cost of treatment for all Israeli citizens injured by landmines. Coverage is also provided for tourists, students, and anyone who has entered the country legally, as they are included in the Health Services clause of Victims of Hostile Activities regulation, and therefore, given extensive treatment. Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories, however, are not provided such coverage.
The main Israeli hospitals and centers offering rehabilitation programs include “Tel-Hashomer” (“Shiba”) and “Loewenstein” in Tel Aviv, and “Rambam” and “Bnei Zion” in Haifa. As of January 2001, Israel had six workshops specializing in prostheses, ten specializing in orthoses, more than a dozen orthopedic shoemakers, and a number of physiotherapists working in the field of orthopedic rehabilitation.[31]
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[1] Statement to the UN General Assembly First Committee by Alon Bar, Director of Division of Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Meir Itzchaki, First Secretary, Division of Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New York, October 2001.
[2] Israel, National Annual Report required by Article 13, Amended Protocol II, CCW, submitted 26 November 2001, p. 10.
[3] Article 13 report, 26 November 2001, p. 5.
[4] Statement by Aaron Jacob, Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, New York, 21 November 2001, p. 1.
[5] Article 13 report, 26 November 2001, p. 12.
[6] Email to Landmine Monitor/HRW from Meir Itzchaki, First Secretary, Regional Security and Arms Control Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 July 2002.
[7] Letter to Human Rights Watch from Robert W. Maggi, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, 21 September 2001.
[8] Discussion with Israeli official, Geneva, December 2001.
[9] Interview with Meir Itzchaki, First Secretary, Regional Security and Arms Control Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 13 December 2001. This was reiterated in an email dated 30 June 2001.
[10] Gideon Alon, “PM Sharon opposes mines near security fence,” Haaretz Daily (Tel Aviv), 25 June 2002.
[11] Telephone interview with Bilal Salem, Information Officer for the Palestinian National Security Forces, 24 November 2001.
[12] Amended Protocol II prohibits and restricts the use of booby-traps, which are defined in article 2, paragraph 4. Article 3 provides general restrictions on the use of these weapons, in particular paragraph 8(c) which prohibits placement “which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.” The prohibitions on the use of booby-traps and other devices in article 7, paragraph 3 may also be applicable in this case.
[13] Amos Harel and Daniel Sobelman, “IDF expresses sorrow over deaths of boys in Gaza blast,” Haaretz Daily (Tel Aviv), 25 November 2001.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman, U.S. Department of State, “Press Statement: Condolences on Deaths of Palestinian Children,” Washington, DC, 23 November 2001.
[16] Amos Harel and Daniel Sobelman, “IDF expresses sorrow over deaths of boys in Gaza blast,” Haaretz Daily (Tel Aviv), 25 November 2001.
[17] IDF Spokesperson’s Announcements website,
http://www.idf.il/english/announcements/2001/november/25.stm.
[18] Palestinian Center for Human Rights PCHR release, ref: 76/2001, 27 November 2001. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2001/press2001.htm.
[19] “Palestinian woman, three of her children and a nephew die in Gaza blast,” Agence France Presse, Gaza City, 15 March 2002; “5 Die in Gaza Blast,” Times of India, 16 March 2002.
[20] Letter to Landmine Monitor from Meir Itzchaki, First Secretary, Regional Security and Arms Control Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2001. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001 (pp. 1011-1012) for full details of the allegation. If the allegations were correct, Landmine Monitor noted that the type of mine use at Al-Khader (i.e. failing to fence and mark a mined area) could constitute a violation of Amended Protocol II, article 5(2)(a).
[21] Interview with Meir Itzchaki, First Secretary, Regional Security and Arms Control Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 13 December 2001.
[22] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 933 and pp. 935-936.
[23] Interview with Meir Itzchaki, First Secretary, Regional Security and Arms Control Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 13 December 2001.
[24] U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” November 2001, Appendix F, p. A-57, note 41.
[25] The U.S. estimated 260,000 mines in 1998. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, “Hidden Killers,” September 1998, p. A-1. The latest version of the Hidden Killers report released in November 2001 lists the number of mines in Israel as “unknown.”
[26] Article 13 report, 26 November 2001, p. 6.
[27] Ibid., p. 11.
[28] In 1998, Israel participated in a project with Jordan, Canada and Norway aimed at mine clearance in the Jordan valley and medical rehabilitation for Jordanian mine victims. The previous year, Israel conducted a joint mine clearance project with Jordan in the Arava valley. Article 13 report, 26 November 2001, p. 11.
[29] No time periods were cited with these statistics. Article 13 report, 26 November 2001, p. 7.
[30] U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” November 2001, Appendix F, p. A-57, note 41.
[31] Article 13 report, 26 November 2001, p. 8.
