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The Israel Defence Force (IDF) is using
tank-fired flechette anti-personnel rounds in its conflict with Palestinian
militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Military sources told Jane's Defence
Weekly that the IDF is divided about the employment of the round, with some
officers arguing that the shell is effective against certain targets while
others warn of an international backlash.
"The
Israeli military obtained these weapons from the USA after the 1973 war and we
have thousands of old shells in warehouses," said an Israeli defence source.
"The weapon is not regarded as reliable or effective and gunners have a
difficult time in aiming this properly."
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(ATENCION: TRADUCCION AUTOMATICA)
La Fuerza de
Defensa de Israel (IDF) usa “flechette” disparadas desde tanques en su conflicto
con militantes Palestinos en el Banco(orilla) de Oeste y Faja Gaza. Fuentes
militares dijeron el Semanal de Defensa de Jane que el IDF se encuentra dividido
en su empleo. Agunos oficiales que discuten que la munición es eficaz contra
ciertos objetivos mientras otros advierten de una condena internacional.
El IDF usa una versión modificada del M494 105mm la
APERS-T proporcionado por EE. UU en los años 1970. Según un manual de EJÉRCITO
DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, la ronda es " diseñada para final - en el asalto contra
asaltos de infantería numerosos y para el fuego ofensivo contra el personal
expuesto enemigo ".
En IDF atienden el M494 es encajado con la OMEGA de
Tecnologías Reshef M127 con espoleta electrónica que es puesto antes de que la ronda sea
encendida(despedida). En el juego recorren la sección avanzada del M494
alrededor rupturas que liberan aproximadamente 5,000 pequeño dardos de flechette
y un marcador de tinte. El flechettes es dispersado en un modelo formado de cono
que es 300mde largo y 94m de ancho.
" Los militares israelíes obtuvieron estas armas de los EE.UU. después de la guerra 1973 y tenemos miles en municiones viejas en almacenes, " dijo una fuente de defensa israelí. " El arma no es considerada como fiable o eficaz y los artilleros tienen un tiempo difícil en el apuntamiento de esto correctamente. "
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A flechette removed from a Bedouin man at a Gaza
clinic after an alleged Israeli firing incident near Betlaha on 14 May
(Source: ABC News) |
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The M494 APERS-T round disperses about 5,000 small
flechettes (left) and is fired from the 105mm gun of main battle tanks such
as the Israel Defence Force's upgraded M60s, seen here on the West Bank
(Source: PA) |
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22 LR in
the photo is only for size "guesstimating". These flechettes are
hardened steel, black phosphate finished, and as can be seen in the photo are
just slightly over 1" long. There are about 1000 per pound. They were
removed from 106mm anti-personnel rounds, but work out just fine in 12 gauge
loads. Fig. 20-1. Sharp flechettes designed for antipersonnel purposes can be used with
either chemical or biological agents. The agent can be applied to the
flechette’s exterior grooves, or the flechette can be drilled and filled with
either a liquid or a dry agent. These types of weapons would not be
permissible under the Biological Weapons Convention; however, an adversary of
the United States might ignore such restrictions, as has occurred in the
past. Reprinted from van Keuren RT. Chemical and Biological Warfare, An
Investigative Guide. Washington, DC: Office of Enforcement, Strategic
Investigations Division, US Customs Service; 1990: 87. |
Historical
use of “flechettes” by Israel.
March 6th 2003
Various civilians including
three children (two of them practically decapitated) are killed in the street. A tank
shoots a shell in the middle of the street crowded with civilians.
February 12 2003
Beit Lahia
Israeli troops fired a bomb
filled with flechettes (metal fragments like nails, aimed at causing as many
human casualties as possible) at north Beit Lahia on early Wednesday morning
killing Wajdi Salman (17) and ‘Abd al-Rahman Hamdiya (20).
Friday, 30 August, 2002
Dart
bombs 'killed a woman and two children.
Palestinian officials have condemned Israel's reported
use of tank shells which are said to have sprayed thousands of metal darts at a
target in Gaza, killing four Palestinian civilians.
Israeli media said the Israeli army confirmed it used flechettes in an
operation near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, south of Gaza City, on
Thursday.
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Palestinian medical officials said the victims were cut to shreds after
being hit by the tiny metal darts, which are dispersed by a tank shell.
Israel expressed regret for the loss of life, saying the army had opened
fire on suspicious figures seen crawling towards the settlement.
A Palestinian woman, her two sons and their cousin were killed when the
shell landed on a Bedouin encampment in the village of Sheikh Ajlin.
June 9
2001
Gaza Strip civilians killed by Israeli
army nail shells
The killings of Nasra Malalha, 65, Samia Malalha, 37,
and Hekmat Malalha, 25, at their home in al Hadabe marked the first Palestinian
fatalities since the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, declared a unilateral
cease fire on 2 June. They came in advance of a US-led meeting with Palestinian
and Israeli security chiefs to check violence.
Muawiya Hassanein, the doctor in charge of emergency services at Gaza
City's Shifa hospital, said of the fatalities: "There were more than a
dozen nails in each one. They died because of the nail injuries. All three had
nails in the head, chest and abdomen."
Dr Hassanein said it was the fourth time he has treated people with nail
wounds from Israeli shells, and the first time, four months ago, was also from
a shelling near Netzarim.
A visit to al-Hadabe yesterday was enough to leave one
revolted, even by the horrific standards of this conflict. Blood-stained sheets
remained in the shack that became a death trap for the Malalhas. Nails had
penetrated concrete, were stuck in a stone, in planks, a tree, a television
antenna.
Identical letters dated 13 June 2001
from the Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the
Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations
addressed to the Secretary-General and
the President of the Security Council
”On 9 June 2001, the Israeli occupying forces brutally killed three Palestinian
women, all from the same family, and critically wounded many other Palestinian
civilians. This savagery occurred when soldiers of the occupying Power, Israel,
unleashed tank shelling into their residential neighbourhood. They were killed
by flechettes fired from tank shells that struck their home while they were
sleeping. Flechette shells, considered one of the most ruthless anti-personnel
weapons, spray hundreds of dart-like nails in the general areas at which they
are fired. The killing of these three Palestinian women occurred at a time when
Israel, the occupying Power, is implementing a so-called ceasefire. Official
Israeli reports released by the Israeli military spokesperson shortly after the
attack claimed that Israeli fire was directed only at specific locations where
gunmen had been identified. However, on 11 June 2001, Israeli authorities
stated that the attack on the neighbourhood was a mistake.
This is yet another incident of indiscriminate shelling and killing of Palestinian
civilians, including women and children, which is usually followed by Israeli
claims that it was in response to Palestinian gunmen, only later to be declared
as a "mistake". This reflects the continuing pattern of the behaviour
of the Israeli soldiers, which is supported and encouraged by the policies of
the Israeli Government and must cease immediately”.