AAI Calls for Congressional Investigation of Israeli Use of Cluster Bombs

WASHINGTON – April 17, 2007 – The Arab American Institute (AAI) today called on Congress to conduct hearings on a recent preliminary State Department report indicating Israel may have violated bilateral agreements in its indiscriminate use of cluster bombs during the recent Lebanon-Israel war.

The United Nations has estimated that Israel used as many as four million bomblets in southern Lebanon, with approximately 40 percent failing to explode and still posing a grave danger to the civilian population in the area.  In fact, according to the Washington Post, between the start of the cease-fire and August 26 cluster bombs killed 12 Lebanese civilians and wounded 39 more.

In a preliminary report, the U.S. State Department said it believes Israel may have violated bilateral weapons agreements in the use of American-made cluster bombs in heavily populated civilian areas.

AAI also seeks a Congressional inquiry over recent comments by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton that the Bush Administration deliberately delayed seeking a cease-fire in the war.

Bolton, in a BBC interview said he was “damned proud of what we did.”

“Mr. Bolton’s comment comes at a time when polls show our country’s standing in the Arab World to be at a historical low point,” said AAI Executive Director Nidal Ibrahim. “The comments display a callous disregard for the more than 1,000 men, women and children who lost their lives during the conflict.”

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Founded in 1985, the Arab American Institute (AAI) is a nonprofit organization committed to the civic and political empowerment of Americans of Arab descent.  AAI provides policy, research and public affairs services to support a broad range of community activities.

For more information on AAI, please visit http://www.aaiusa.org.