[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H4068-H4073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING DEEP CONCERN OVER THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELDS
Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 125) expressing deep concern over the use of
civilians as ``human shields'' in violation of international
humanitarian law and the law of war during armed conflict, including
Hezbollah's tactic of embedding its forces among civilians to use them
as human shields during the summer of 2006 conflict between Hezbollah
and the State of Israel, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 125
Whereas the term ``human shields'' refers to the use of
civilians, prisoners of war, or other noncombatants whose
mere presence is designed to protect combatants and objects
from attack;
Whereas the use of human shields violates international
humanitarian law (also referred to as the Law of War or Law
of Armed Conflict);
Whereas throughout the summer of 2006 conflict with the
State of Israel, Hezbollah forces utilized human shields to
protect themselves from counterattacks by Israeli forces;
Whereas the majority of civilian casualties of that
conflict might have been avoided and civilian lives saved had
Hezbollah not employed this tactic;
Whereas the news media made constant mention of civilian
casualties but rarely pointed to the culpability, under
international law, of Hezbollah for their endangerment of
such civilians;
Whereas United States and international leaders attempted
to call the use of human shields to the world's attention;
Whereas on August 11, 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice stated, ``Hezbollah and its sponsors have brought
devastation upon the people of Lebanon, dragging them into a
war that they did not choose, and exploiting them as human
shields . . .'';
Whereas on August 14, 2006, President George W. Bush
stated, ``Hezbollah terrorists targeted Israeli civilians
with daily rocket attacks. Hezbollah terrorists used Lebanese
civilians as human shields, sacrificing the innocent in an
effort to protect themselves from Israeli response . . .'';
Whereas Jan Egeland, United Nations Undersecretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator,
accused Hezbollah of ``cowardly blending . . . among women
and children'';
Whereas for states parties to Additional Protocol I, such
as Lebanon, Article 50(1) to the Geneva Convention defines
civilian as, ``[a]ny person who does not belong to one of the
categories of persons referred to in Article 4(A)(1), (2),
(3), and (6) of the Third Convention and in Article 43 of
this Protocol. In the case of doubt whether a person is a
civilian, that person shall be considered a civilian.'';
Whereas for states parties to Additional Protocol I, such
as Lebanon, Article 51(7) to the Geneva Convention states,
``[T]he presence or movement of the civilian population or
individual civilians shall not be used to render certain
points or areas immune from military operations, in
particular in attempts to shield military objectives from
attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations.
The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of
the civilian population or individual civilians in order to
attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to
shield military operations.''; and
Whereas Convention IV, Article 28, Relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of the Geneva
Convention states, ``The presence of a protected person may
not be used to render certain points or areas immune from
military operations.'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns the use of innocent civilians as
human shields, including Hezbollah's use of this brutal and
illegal tactic during the summer of 2006 conflict with
Israel;
(2) calls on responsible nations to condemn the use of
civilians as human shields as a violation of international
humanitarian law; and
(3) calls on responsible nations and experts in the area of
international humanitarian law to focus particular attention
on the use of human shields in violation of international
humanitarian law and make further recommendations on the
prevention of such violation in the future.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Ackerman) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
resolution and yield myself such time as I might consume.
Last year, we witnessed a tragic conflict in Lebanon, instigated by
Hezbollah's unprovoked cross-border raid into Israel. This Hezbollah
action resulted in the killing of eight brave Israeli soldiers and the
kidnapping of two others, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
The suffering of the Lebanese people was immense as thousands fled
their homes in the subsequent fighting. Many homes were damaged or
destroyed, and lives were lost.
The key reason that civilian areas were destroyed was the cynical
strategy of Hezbollah guerrillas to stage their attacks from the middle
of towns and residential areas.
The use of civilians as human shields is reprehensible and is in
direct violation of all the laws of warfare. Indeed, the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court provides that such conduct is a
serious violation of the laws of war and should be prosecuted.
This resolution properly condemns the use of human shields and, in
particular, the conduct of Hezbollah in this bloody conflict. Let us
make no mistake. The loss of civilian life in Lebanon was due solely to
Hezbollah's cruel and uncivilized use of civilian areas as military
bases. Meanwhile, Hezbollah used rocket fire to murder Israeli
civilians indiscriminately and to destroy Israeli civilian areas that
were of no military value whatsoever.
This resolution calls on all responsible nations to condemn such
heinous acts and to work to eliminate them. No nation that calls itself
a member of the international community can engage in such barbaric
practices. In conflicts all over the globe, human shields have been
used for various purposes. None of them are acceptable.
Let us urge the President and our friends and allies to join us and
do their utmost to stop the use of human shields once and for all.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of our colleagues to support the
resolution.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
During last summer's war between Israel and Lebanon, which was
initiated by Hezbollah jihadist militants breaching Israel's border and
killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers, Hezbollah extremists used
Lebanese civilians as human shields to protect themselves from
counterattacks by Israeli forces.
Hezbollah jihadists embedded their forces among innocent civilians in
violation of international law.
According to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ``Hezbollah and its
sponsors have brought devastation upon the people of Lebanon, dragging
them into a war that they did not choose, and exploiting them as human
shields.''
To express deep concern over the use of civilians by Hezbollah and to
condemn these actions, my distinguished colleagues, Congressman Ron
Klein and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, introduced this bill.
[[Page H4069]]
Among other things in the bill, it strongly condemns the use of
innocent civilians as human shields, including Hezbollah's use of this
savage and illegal tactic during last summer's war between Israel and
Lebanon; calls on the international community to recognize and condemn
these violations of international law; and calls on responsible nations
and experts in the area of international humanitarian law to pay
special attention on the use of human shields in violation of
international humanitarian law and make further recommendations on the
prevention of such violation in the future.
I urge my colleagues to support this very important legislation.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), the chairman of the Oversight and
Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy.
Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my good friend Mr.
Ackerman for the opportunity to address the Congress on this issue.
As some of my colleagues are aware, on July 19, 2006, I introduced
legislation to this Congress calling on the President to appeal to all
sides in the crisis in the Middle East for an immediate cessation of
violence and to commit the United States diplomats to multiparty
negotiations with no preconditions. This resolution specifically
related to the events that brought violence to Lebanon and to Israel as
well.
I want to say from the start that I took that position because I
believe that Israel has a right to survive and Israel is entitled to
its security and so, too, the people of Lebanon have a right to survive
and were entitled to their security.
I think that it is regrettable that our government did not become
immediately involved in diplomatic relations so that we could have been
able to forestall the disaster that was visited upon south Lebanon
where tens of thousands of structures were leveled.
I am not speaking about this theoretically, Madam Speaker, because my
wife and I went to south Lebanon and surveyed the damage, and it was
utter destruction.
I would refer my colleagues to Amnesty International's report
regarding the destruction in south Lebanon.
I also would like to put into the Record a copy of H. Con. Res. 450
which called on the President to appeal to all sides in the crisis.
H. Con. Res. 450
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) calls upon the President to--
(A) appeal to all sides in the current crisis in the Middle
East for an immediate cessation of violence;
(B) commit United States diplomats to multi-party
negotiations with no preconditions; and
(C) send a high-1evel diplomatic mission to the region to
facilitate such multi-party negotiations;
(2) urges such multi-party negotiations to begin as soon as
possible, including delegations from the governments of
Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, Iran, Syria,
Jordan, and Egypt; and
(3) supports an international peacekeeping mission to
southern Lebanon to prevent cross-border skirmishes during
such multi-party negotiations.
____
[From the New York Times, Jan. 28, 2007]
Israel May Have Violated Arms Pact, U.S. Says
(By David S. Cloud and Greg Myre)
Washington, Jan. 27.--The Bush administration will inform
Congress on Monday that Israel may have violated agreements
with the United States when it fired American-supplied
cluster munitions into southern Lebanon during its fight with
Hezbollah last summer, the State Department said Saturday.
The finding, though preliminary, has prompted a contentious
debate within the administration over whether the United
States should penalize Israel for its use of cluster
munitions against towns and villages where Hezbollah had
placed its rocket launchers.
Cluster munitions are anti-personnel weapons that scatter
tiny but deadly bomblets over a wide area. The grenadelike
munitions, tens of thousands of which have been found in
southern Lebanon, have caused 30 deaths and 180 injuries
among civilians since the end of the war, according to the
United Nations Mine Action Service.
Midlevel officials at the Pentagon and the State Department
have argued that Israel violated American prohibitions on
using cluster munitions against populated areas, according to
officials who described the deliberations. But other
officials in both departments contend that Israel's use of
the weapons was for self-defense and aimed at stopping the
Hezbollah attacks that claimed the lives of about 40 Israeli
soldiers and civilians and at worst was only a technical
violation.
Any sanctions against Israel would be an extraordinary move
by the Bush administration, a strong backer of Israel, and
several officials said they expected little further action,
if any, on the matter.
But sanctions against Israel for misusing the weapons would
not be unprecedented. The Reagan administration imposed a
six-year ban on cluster-weapon sales to Israel in 1982, after
a Congressional investigation found that Israel had used the
weapons in civilian areas during its 1982 invasion of
Lebanon. One option under discussion is to bar additional
sales of cluster munitions for some period, an official said.
The State Department is required to notify Congress even of
preliminary findings of possible violations of the Arms
Export Control Act, the statute governing arms sales. It
began an investigation in August.
Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said that
the notification to Congress would occur Monday but that a
final determination about whether Israel violated the
agreements on use of cluster bombs was still being debated.
``It is important to remember the kind of war Hezbollah
waged,'' he said. ``They used innocent civilians as a way to
shield their fighters.''
Even if Israel is found to be in violation, the statute
gives President Bush discretion about whether to impose
sanctions, unless Congress decides to take legislative
action. Israel makes its own cluster munitions, so a cutoff
of American supplies would have mainly symbolic significance.
Israel gave the State Department a dozen-page report late
last year in which it acknowledged firing thousands of
American cluster munitions into southern Lebanon but denied
violating agreements that prohibit their use in civilian
areas, the officials said. The cluster munitions included
artillery shells, rockets and bombs dropped from aircraft,
many of which had been sold to Israel years ago, one official
said.
Before firing at rocket sites in towns and villages, the
Israeli report said, the Israeli military dropped leaflets
warning civilians of the attacks. The report, which has not
previously been disclosed, also noted that many of the
villages were deserted because civilians had fled the
fighting, the officials said.
David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in
Washington, said Israel ``provided a detailed response to the
administration's request for information'' on its use of
cluster munitions ``to halt Hezbollah's unprovoked rockets
attacks against our civilian populations centers.''
He added, ``Israel suffered heavy casualties in these
attacks and acted as any government would in exercise of its
right to self-defense.''
John Hillen, who was assistant secretary of state in charge
of the bureau until he resigned this month, told Bloomberg
News in December that Israel had provided ``great
cooperation'' in the investigation. ``From their perspective,
use of the munitions was clearly done within the
agreements,'' he said.
Another administration official said the investigation had
caused ``head-butting'' involving the Bureau of Political-
Military Affairs and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at
the State Department, as well as Pentagon arms sales
officials. Some officials ``are trying to find a way to not
have to call this a substantial violation,'' the official
said.
In particular, the State Department has asked Israel for
additional information on reports that commanders and troops
violated orders that restricted how cluster bombs could be
used, an official said. In November, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the
chief of staff of the Israeli military until his resignation
on Jan. 17, ordered an investigation into whether
restrictions on use of the weapons were ignored by some
units.
That investigation is still under way, and military
officials have refused to divulge any details in public.
Israel's Channel 2 television reported in December that the
military's judge advocate general was gathering evidence for
possible criminal charges against military officers who might
have ordered cluster bombs fired into populated areas.
Israel has told the State Department that it originally
tried targeted strikes against Hezbollah rocket sites, but
those proved ineffective.
Heavy use of cluster bombs was tried instead, to kill or
maim Hezbollah fighters manning the launchers. Israeli
commanders employed cluster weapons because they suspected
that they would flee after firing their rockets. Even those
attacks failed to stop the rockets barrages.
The agreements that govern Israel's use of American cluster
munitions go back to the 1970s. But the details, which have
been revised several times, are classified.
However, officials said that the agreements specified that
cluster weapons could not be used in populated areas, in part
because of the risk to civilians after a conflict is over if
the bomblets fail to self-destruct, as they are designed to
do.
The agreements said the munitions be used only against
organized armies and clearly defined military targets under
conditions similar to the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973,
when Israel arguably faced threats to its survival, officials
said.
[[Page H4070]]
Since the end oflast summer's war, de-mining team have
located 800 cluster-bomb strike areas, and they destroyed
95,000 bomblets, said Christopher Clark, program manager for
the United Nations Mine Action Service in Lebanon. ``We found
them pretty much everywhere--in villages, at road junctions,
in olive groves and on banana plantations,'' Mr. Clark said.
The casualty rate has come down sharply, he said. Right
after the war, there were more than 40 casualties a week; now
it is about 3 or 4 a week.
Donatella Rovera, a researcher with Amnesty International
in London, said older American cluster weapons used by Israel
during the war did not reliably self-destruct, compared with
Israel's own cluster munitions, which are newer and are said
to have a much lower dud rate.
``We've asked them to release detailed maps on where the
cluster bombs were used,'' Ms. Rovera said of the Israeli
military. ``That is the one thing that could help speed up
the cleanup process.''
____
[From Human Rights Watch]
Israeli Cluster Munitions Hit Civilians in Lebanon: Israel Must Not Use
Indiscriminate Weapons
Beirut, July 24, 2006.--Israel has used artillery-fired
cluster munitions in populated areas of Lebanon, Human Rights
Watch said today. Researchers on the ground in Lebanon
confirmed that a cluster munitions attack on the village of
Blida on July 19 killed one and wounded at least 12
civilians, including seven children. Human Rights Watch
researchers also photographed cluster munitions in the
arsenal of Israeli artillery teams on the Israel-Lebanon
border.
``Cluster munitions are unacceptably inaccurate and
unreliable weapons when used around civilians,'' said Kenneth
Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. ``They should
never be used in populated areas.''
According to eyewitnesses and survivors of the attack
interviewed by Human Rights Watch, Israel fired several
artillery-fired cluster munitions at Blida around 3 p.m. on
July 19. The witnesses described how the artillery shells
dropped hundreds of cluster submunitions on the village. They
clearly described the submunitions as smaller projectiles
that emerged from their larger shells.
The cluster attack killed 60-year-old Maryam Ibrahim inside
her home. At least two submunitions from the attack entered
the basement that the Ali family was using as a shelter,
wounding 12 persons, including seven children. Ahmed Ali, a
45-year-old taxi driver and head of the family, lost both
legs from injuries caused by the cluster munitions. Five of
his children were wounded: Mira, 16; Fatima, 12; `Ali, 10;
Aya, 3; and `Ola, 1. His wife Akram Ibrahim, 35, and his
mother-in-law `Ola Musa, 80, were also wounded. Four
relatives, all German-Lebanese dual nationals sheltering with
the family, were wounded as well: Mohammed Ibrahim, 45; his
wife Fatima, 40; and their children `Ali, 16, and Rula, 13.
Human Rights Watch researchers photographed artillery-
delivered cluster munitions among the arsenal of Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) artillery teams stationed on the
Israeli-Lebanese border during a research visit on July 23.
The photographs show M483A1 Dual Purpose Improved
Conventional Munitions, which are U.S.-produced and -
supplied, artillery-delivered cluster munitions. The
photographs contain the distinctive marks of such cluster
munitions, including a diamond-shaped stamp, and a shape that
is longer than ordinary artillery, according to a retired IDF
commander who asked not to be identified.
The M483A1 artillery shells deliver 88 cluster submunitions
per shell, and have an unacceptably high failure rate (dud
rate) of 14 percent, leaving behind a serious unexploded
ordnance problem that will further endanger civilians. The
commander said that the IOF's operations manual warns
soldiers that the use of such cluster munitions creates
dangerous minefields due to the high dud rate.
Lebanese security forces, who to date have not engaged in
the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, also accused
Israel of using cluster munitions in its attacks on Blida and
other Lebanese border villages. These sources also indicated
they have evidence that Israel used cluster munitions earlier
this year during fighting with Hezbollah around the contested
Shebaa Farms area. Human Rights Watch is continuing to
investigate these additional allegations.
Human Rights Watch believes that the use of cluster
munitions in populated areas may violate the prohibition on
indiscriminate attacks contained in international
humanitarian law. The wide dispersal pattern of their
submunitions makes it very difficult to avoid civilian
casualties if civilians are in the area. Moreover, because of
their high failure rate, cluster munitions leave large
numbers of hazardous, explosive duds that injure and kill
civilians even after the attack is over. Human Rights Watch
believes that cluster munitions should never be used, even
away from civilians, unless their dud rate is less than 1
percent.
Human Rights Watch conducted detailed analyses of the U.S.
military's use of cluster bombs in the 1999 Yugoslavia war,
the 2001-2002 Afghanistan war, and the 2003 Iraq war. Human
Rights Watch research established that the use of cluster
munitions in populated areas in Iraq caused more civilian
casualties than any other factor in the U.S.-led coalition's
conduct of major military operations in March and April 2003,
killing and wounding more than 1,000 Iraqi civilians. Roughly
a quarter of the 500 civilian deaths caused by NATO bombing
in the 1999 Yugoslavia war were also due to cluster
munitions.
``Our research in Iraq and Kosovo shows that cluster
munitions cannot be used in populated areas without huge loss
of civilian life,'' Roth said. ``Israel must stop using
cluster bombs in Lebanon at once.''
Human Rights Watch called upon the Israel Defense Forces to
immediately cease the use of indiscriminate weapons like
cluster munitions in Lebanon.
background
Israel used cluster munitions in Lebanon in 1978 and in the
1980s. At that time, the United States placed restrictions on
their use and then a moratorium on the transfer of cluster
munitions to Israel out of concern for civilian casualties.
Those weapons used more than two decades ago continue to
affect Lebanon.
Israel has in its arsenal cluster munitions delivered by
aircraft, artillery and rockets. Israel is a major producer
and exporter of cluster munitions, primarily artillery
projectiles and rockets containing M85 DPICM (Dual Purpose
Improved Conventional Munition) submunitions. Israeli
Military Industries, an Israeli government-owned weapons
manufacturer, has reportedly produced more than 60 million
M85 DPICM submunitions. Israel also produces at least six
different types of air-dropped cluster bombs, and has
imported from the United States M26 rockets for its Multiple
Launch Rocket Systems.
There is growing international momentum to stop the use of
cluster munitions. Belgium became the first country to ban
cluster munitions in February 2006, and Norway announced a
moratorium on the weapon in June 2006. Cluster munitions are
increasingly the focus of discussion at the meetings of the
Convention on Conventional Weapons, with ever more states
calling for a new international instrument dealing with
cluster munitions.
____
[From the New York Times, Aug. 25, 2006]
Inquiry Opened Into Israeli Use of U.S. Bombs
(By David S. Cloud)
Washington, Aug. 24.--The State Department is investigating
whether Israel's use of American-made cluster bombs in
southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United
States that restrict when it can employ such weapons, two
officials said.
The investigation by the department's Office of Defense
Trade Controls began this week, after reports that three
types of American cluster munitions, anti-personnel weapons
that spray bomblets over a wide area, have been found in many
areas of southern Lebanon and were responsible for civilian
casualties.
Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman, said, ``We
have heard the allegations that these munitions were used,
and we are seeking more information.'' He declined to comment
further.
Several current and former officials said that they doubted
the investigation would lead to sanctions against Israel but
that the decision to proceed with it might be intended to
help the Bush administration ease criticism from Arab
governments and commentators over its support of Israel's
military operations. The investigation has not been publicly
announced; the State Department confirmed it in response to
questions.
In addition to investigating use of the weapons in southern
Lebanon, the State Department has held up a shipment of M-26
artillery rockets, a cluster weapon, that Israel sought
during the conflict, the officials said.
The inquiry is likely to focus on whether Israel properly
informed the United States about its use of the weapons and
whether targets were strictly military. So far, the State
Department is relying on reports from United Nations
personnel and nongovernmental organizations in southern
Lebanon, the officials said.
David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, said,
``We have not been informed about any such inquiry, and when
we are we would be happy to respond.''
Officials were granted anonymity to discuss the
investigation because it involves sensitive diplomatic issues
and agreements that have been kept secret for years.
The agreements that govern Israel's use of American cluster
munitions go back to the 1970's, when the first sales of the
weapons occurred, but the details of them have never been
publicly confirmed. The first one was signed in 1976 and
later reaffirmed in 1978 after an Israeli incursion into
Lebanon. News accounts over the years have said that they
require that the munitions be used only against organized
Arab armies and clearly defined military targets under
conditions similar to the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973.
A Congressional investigation after Israel's 1982 invasion
of Lebanon found that Israel had used the weapons against
civilian areas in violation of the agreements. In response,
the Reagan administration imposed a six-year ban on further
sales of cluster weapons to Israel.
Israeli officials acknowledged soon after their offensive
began last month that they were using cluster munitions
against rocket sites and other military targets. While
Hezbollah positions were frequently hidden in civilian areas,
Israeli officials said their,
[[Page H4071]]
intention was to use cluster bombs in open terrain.
Bush administration officials warned Israel to avoid
civilian casualties, but they have lodged no public protests
against its use of cluster weapons. American officials say it
has not been not clear whether the weapons, which are also
employed by the United States military, were being used
against civilian areas and had been supplied by the United
States. Israel also makes its own types of cluster weapons.
But a report released Wednesday by the United Nations Mine
Action Coordination Center, which has personnel in Lebanon
searching for unexploded ordnance, said it had found
unexploded bomblets, including hundreds of American types, in
249 locations south of the Litani River.
The report said American munitions found included 559 M-
42's, an anti-personnel bomblet used in 105-millimeter
artillery shells; 663 M-77's, a submunition found in M-26
rockets; and 5 BLU-63's, a bomblet found in the CBU-26
cluster bomb. Also found were 608 M-85's, an Israeli-made
submunition.
The unexploded submunitions being found in Lebanon are
probably only a fraction of the total number dropped. Cluster
munitions can contain dozens or even hundreds of submunitions
designed to explode as they scatter around a wide area. They
are very effective against rocket-launcher units or ground
troops.
The Lebanese government has reported that the conflict
killed 1,183 people and wounded 4,054, most of them
civilians. The United Nations reported this week that the
number of civilian casualties in Lebanon from cluster
munitions, land mines and unexploded bombs stood at 30
injured and eight killed.
Dozen of Israelis were killed and hundreds wounded in
attacks by Hezbollah rockets, some of which were loaded with
ball bearings to maximize their lethality.
Officials say it is unlikely that Israel will be found to
have violated a separate agreement, the Arms Export Control
Act, which requires foreign governments that receive American
weapons to use them for legitimate self-defense. Proving that
Israel's campaign against Hezbollah did not constitute self-
defense would be difficult, especially in view of President
Bush's publicly announced support for Israel's action after
Hezbollah fighters attacked across the border, the officials
said.
Even if Israel is found to have violated the classified
agreement covering cluster bombs, it is not clear what
actions the United States might take.
In 1982, delivery of cluster-bomb shells to Israel was
suspended a month after Israel invaded Lebanon after the
Reagan administration determined that Israel ``may'' have
used them against civilian areas.
But the decision to impose what amounted to a indefinite
moratorium was made under pressure from Congress, which
conducted a long investigation of the issue. Israel and the
United States reaffirmed restrictions on the use of cluster
munitions in 1988, and the Reagan administration lifted the
moratorium.
I also want to ask for this moment when we are talking about the use
of human shields to remember that certainly the people of Israel
suffered, and my wife and I visited Israel and we talked to government
officials who were concerned about the threat to Israel's security that
was presented by Hezbollah.
{time} 1200
But I also have to say that the use of cluster munitions and the use
of bombs against the people of Lebanon needs to be recognized at this
point. I could stand here, certainly, objecting, and I do, to
Hezbollah's conduct, because we know what they did in creating
conditions to use people in populated areas was wrong.
But I also think that it's important to call to the attention of this
Congress the suffering of the people in Lebanon, because what happened
was that bombs were dropped and perhaps over 1,000 people were killed.
That needs to be discussed. We also need to recognize that the people
of Lebanon have a love for America despite our Government's actions in
standing back.
Let me share with you a story out of Qana that my wife and I visited.
We went there late at night, and there was destruction everywhere. We
were led to a graveyard where people had their families buried as a
result of a U.S. attack. Then we were led to the site of where a bomb
fragment or a bomb burst through an apartment building, and it killed
dozens of people. It was thought that bomb was paid for by U.S. tax
dollars.
The people who gathered around late at night from the village,
knowing there was an American Congressman there, spoke out and said,
you know, we love America. We don't like what your leaders do, but we
love America. We do not wish anyone ill in America, and we want peace.
We don't want Israel to be destroyed. This was made very clear. These
were people who from the depths of their humanity were crying out for
recognition about their suffering.
Madam Speaker, this is a fragment of the bomb which burst through an
apartment building and killed dozens of women and children. I wanted to
just show Congress this, because what we are talking about, using
people as human shields, it's important also for the Israeli Government
to take responsibilities for their actions as well. I say this as
someone who speaks in defense of Israel and the defense of Israel's
right to survive.
If we are going to ever have peace in the region, there has to be a
mutual recognition of everyone's right to survive, and opportunity for
all people to be able to bring their grievances forward and have them
resolved.
I appreciate my friend's opportunity to present this.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa).
(Mr. ISSA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 125 and
join with my colleagues in denouncing Hezbollah for employing the use
and the tactic of placing weapons, defensive and offensive, in the
midst of communities in which innocent civilians live.
I also associate myself with the previous speaker, though, in saying
that we have to go beyond a narrow issue of a single enemy in the
Middle East. The use of human shields in the Middle East is
unfortunately widespread, not just by the cancer that grows, that is
known as Hezbollah in Lebanon, but also throughout the region.
On this point, I would like to give credit where credit is due. These
pictures were taken, this one was taken in 2004, where a 13-year-old
Palestinian boy named Mohammed Badwan was tied to the hood of an
Israeli police jeep in the West Bank. A group of Palestinian youths had
been reportedly throwing rocks at Israeli police, so the boy was taken
and tied to the jeep so that they would stop throwing their rocks.
On October 6, and I want to give credit where credit is due, because
this has not been unanswered, on October 6, 2005, the Israel High Court
of Justice, the equivalent of our Supreme Court, ruled that it was
illegal for Israeli forces to use Palestinian civilians during military
operations. This ruling effectively ended the officially sanctioned
tactic known as neighborhood procedure, whereby Israeli soldiers would
forcibly use Palestinian civilians for tasks, including entering
buildings to check to see if they were booby-trapped, removing building
occupants, and moving suspicious objects from roads used by the army.
One of the victims of this neighborhood procedure was a 19-year-old
Palestinian student who in 2002 was killed in the West Bank after
troops took the young man out of his house and forced him to knock on
the door of a neighboring building, where a senior Hamas fugitive was
hiding. Gunfire erupted, and the student was killed.
In addition to the Israeli Supreme Court, human rights group have
also been recognized for their work, and I commend them. B'Tselem,
Rabbis for Human Rights, and Adalah have worked extensively on these
cases and brought them to the court. To the credit of the Israeli
people and their court system, they have denounced it, and they have
sought to stop it.
The Israeli Army itself, most recently, acted swiftly to suspend a
commander caught on videotape using two Palestinian youths as human
shields earlier this month. In the video that has been seen around the
world and covered by the Associated Press, a peace activist is heard
shouting to the Israeli soldiers who have positioned two youths
standing in front of their vehicle, ``You can't use them as human
shields. It's against the law.''
The Israeli soldier responds, ``We are not using them as a human
shield.''
``They are standing in front of your jeep. How is that not a human
shield? You are using them to protect you from stones,'' the activist
retorts.
``We asked them to speak to their friends and ask them to stop
throwing stones at us,'' the soldier says.
Shortly after this videotape was posted, the Israeli military
announced
[[Page H4072]]
the mission commander had been relieved of operational duty following
this incident, in which IDF soldiers had apparently used these
civilians, and the Israeli Government acted quickly.
I applaud their swift response and their efforts to make this use of
human shields, once and for all, stop. This morning I circulated a Dear
Colleague via e-mail with links to these videos and news stories.
I encourage my colleagues to take a look at these articles and
efforts under way to stop the use of human shields. I have also issued
statements that are on my Web site at www.issa.house.gov under the
heading of ``Banning the use of Human Shields.''
Madam Speaker, I believe there are two sides to this. There is a
difference. One side is continuing to be a cancer on the people of
Lebanon. One side is continuing to use human shields with very little
to stop them. The other side is taking those measures.
I came here today to commend the Israeli Government for taking those
measures, to ask them to continue to use the strongest methods possible
to make sure that is eliminated from one side of the equation. I will
support this resolution denouncing the other side of the equation that
continues to use human shields.
Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might
consume.
To my good friend from California, as well as my good friend from
Ohio, I would address the following observations and concerns. First, I
would like to thank each of them for their support for this resolution
condemning Hezbollah for their actions.
But I would like to note for the record that there is a tremendous
difference between a perpetrator and a victim. A perpetrator is the one
who initiates the act. The victim is the one who is victimized by the
act. Very often, in an act of violence, murder, mayhem, the victim
fights back. The victim has every single right in the world, legally
and morally, to defend itself against violence. Some might argue
sometimes that in defense of oneself, the victim goes too far. The
woman being raped tries to scratch out the eyes of the rapist. Who is
to blame her?
I thank my two friends for also pointing out that there is a
difference in systems, that there is a difference in moral values
between that which the Hezbollah does and the response of the Israelis.
I appreciated the fact that the gentleman from Ohio brought in part of
a weapon of destruction that was used in self-defense, but I am also
happy that we did not bring in gory pictures of Israeli children and
women on their way to school or working on farms or in their villages,
who every day are subject to attacks and missiles fired by Hezbollah as
they go about their daily, innocent lives.
I thank the gentleman from California for calling to the House's
attention in so eloquent a way of what is rarely government and
governance and society and what Israel is all about, who points out
graphically and with the evidence he brought before us the fact that it
was an Israeli human rights defender who called out to the Israeli
soldiers whose conduct he properly called into question, that they have
no right to do that and that there are laws against it.
Where were the Lebanese people calling out to the Hezbollah who
invaded their homes and their neighborhoods and took over and used
them, sometimes willingly, sometimes not, as human shields, and said to
them, we forbid you to do this, it's against our human rights, and it's
against our laws? Not once.
I thank the gentleman from California for pointing out the Israeli
system of justice, which stands basically equal to ours. We, too, in
the pursuit of terrorists and evildoers, as the President would call
them, sometimes unfortunately commit acts in that pursuit and in
defense of ourselves against the terrorists, where civilians are hurt
and civilians do die. But that is not our purpose. When the Hezbollah
does that, that is their intention for the civilians to die.
I thank the gentleman from California for pointing out that this went
through the Israeli justice system because it is contrary to the laws
of the democracy of the democratic State of Israel. It went to the
Supreme Court of Israel, and that court found, in full view, because
Israeli television shows showed their soldiers doing something wrong,
and they were charged, and the court found them guilty, and the court
banned it.
People were held responsible in a responsible society. That did not
happen with the Hezbollah. That did not happen in Lebanon. It happened
in Israel where people paid the price, where the military officers who
were in charge of the operation were found guilty.
That is the difference between a democratic, humane society, where
there are innocent victims of self-defense, who unfortunately, as
individuals within the military, sometimes get carried away. That
happens in every army in the history of the world. But holding people
responsible for those individual actions is a sign of a true democracy.
That did not happen with the Hezbollah. That did not happen with
Lebanon. That is the difference between democratic, humane societies
and terrorist organizations.
{time} 1215
I thank our two colleagues for bringing this to the attention of the
House so that we might highlight the differences between two societies,
Hezbollah, governed by terror, whose only purpose is to wreak havoc
upon civilian populations, and a democracy like Israel, who responds to
terrorism and sometimes have unfortunate incidents for which they hold
individuals responsible and who pay the price.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House
Resolution 125, championed by Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Dr.
Boozman and Mr. Ackerman, which opposes using civilians as human
shields.
As a member of the Armed Services Committee, as a 31-year veteran of
the Army Reserves and National Guard, and as the father of four sons in
the U.S. military, I know firsthand that using human shields violates
international law.
Just last year, American and international leaders condemned the use
of human shields. The Lebanese have been particularly victims of human
shields in the past year. On August 11, 2006, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice stated, ``Hezbollah and its sponsors have brought
devastation upon the people of Lebanon, dragging them into a war that
they did not choose and exploiting them as human shields.''
On August 14, President George W. Bush stated, ``Hezbollah terrorists
targeted Israeli civilians with daily rocket attacks. Hezbollah
terrorists used Lebanese civilians as human shields, sacrificing the
innocent in an effort to protect themselves from Israeli response.''
Also, as to Israel, we should note that the Israeli Supreme Court has
ruled a ban to the use of human shields. Additionally, Israel has a
strict policy against the use of civilians as human shields, and in
dealing with the isolated incidents where the policy is violated, takes
measure to punish those responsible and prevent these acts from
occurring in the future.
It is clear, as eloquently reviewed by Mr. Ackerman, that no one
should seek to apply a moral equivalency between isolated incidents
formally opposed by Israel's democratically elected government and the
actions of Hezbollah, whose policies and tactics show disregard for
human life and advocate intentionally using the tactic of embedding its
forces among civilians to use them as human shields, abusing the people
of Lebanon.
I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 125, condemning the
use of human shields.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Weldon).
Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I
commend my colleagues for bringing this important legislation to the
floor.
It was obvious, I think, to all people watching the news coverage
during the recent Hezbollah-Israel war that it was standard operating
procedure for Hezbollah to place its soldiers that were firing rockets
into Israel, in housing projects, in housing areas where there were
civilians, and the only way
[[Page H4073]]
that Israel could respond to that rocket fire involved risking the
lives of the women and children who lived in those areas. It was
disgraceful and it was a violation of international law. And to me it
is absolutely ridiculous that Hezbollah would find some photo of a
bunch of Palestinian youths leaning on a tank and try to make an
argument in front of the world stage that that is the moral equivalent
of what they were doing. There is absolutely no comparison.
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to commend my colleague from New York and
people on both sides of the aisle for bringing forward this important
piece of legislation.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, last summer, Hezbollah militants kidnapped
two Israeli soldiers and instigated an armed conflict in which they
indiscriminately fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells into
Israel with the hope of inflicting as many civilian casualties as
possible.
And what was most disturbing about Hezbollah's actions was not that
they targeted innocent men, women, and children with their attacks--the
world has come to expect such cowardly tactics from terrorist
organizations that are dedicated to inflicting anguish and destruction.
Rather, it was the fact that Hezbollah embedded their equipment and
bases of operations amid the Lebanese civilian population--effectively
using them as ``human shields'' to protect them from retaliation.
This brutal exploitation of a civilian population--and others like it
that take place all too often in areas controlled by Hezbollah and
Hamas--stands in direct violation of international humanitarian law and
laws of war during armed conflict.
Today, I am proud to join with my fellow Members of Congress in
condemning the use of human shields in armed conflict--and I stand with
all of the people of the world who understand that the role of a
soldier is to protect civilians, not exploit them for security or
political gain.
Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of
the resolution condemning Hezbollah's frequent use of civilians to
protect their military forces and cache of weapons. All too often we
hear claims that Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces are moral
equivalents. But when we look at the facts, we see that Hezbollah
constantly demonstrates that it is a force that does not operate under
the international treaties that attempt to govern warfare.
Hezbollah has set up shop in southern Lebanon and, while they attempt
to participate in the legal process of that nation, they are not under
the control of any government. They use the funds of Iran and Syria to
act as their proxies in the fight against Israel. There is little
dispute that they store much of their military equipment below civilian
houses and during the most recent conflict their military leadership
holed up in bunkers filled with non-combatants.
Hezbollah fights their wars in the international press as much as
they fight them in the battlefield. Sadly, civilian deaths are seen as
a victory since they can use the cry of war atrocities to keep the
Israelis from engaging their forces.
On the other side we see Israeli forces who clearly identify their
military personnel by uniform and delineate their military
installations from civilian. Yet, Hezbollah still chooses to
indiscriminately shoot their rockets into principally civilian areas.
Hezbollah operates far outside the bounds of international law,
something we must not forget as we seek to control them through
international bodies such as the United Nations. With no regard for the
lives of their own nationals, can we expect them to hold up their end
of Security Council resolutions? We must stand with the legitimate
government of Israel, a shining light of democracy and freedom besieged
by those with no respect for law or life.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on our side,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McNulty). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 125, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``Resolution
expressing deep concern over the use of civilians as `human shields' in
violation of international humanitarian law, including Hezbollah's
tactic of embedding its forces among civilians to use them as human
shields during the summer of 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and the
State of Israel.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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