Lebanon to Sue Israel Over White Phosphorus Attacks on Farmlands

The Lebanese government will file new lawsuits against Israel through the United Nations after completing an assessment of the damage that Israel's use of white phosphorus in attacks on the country's south had on its agricultural land, Lebanon's acting agriculture minister, Abbas Hajj Hassan said.

"Lebanon used the Foreign Ministry's channels to file lawsuits against Israel... More lawsuits will be filed after commissions at the Agriculture Ministry complete their analysis and assessment of the damage caused by the use of white phosphorus, which rendered many fields unusable," Hajj Hassan said.

The minister accused Israel of using white phosphorus shells and cluster munitions in violation of international conventions and norms. The Agriculture Ministry has been looking into testimony provided by 40,000 agricultural workers with the help of specialized UN agencies.

The use of white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon is prohibited under Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which regulates the use of weapons designed to set fire to or burn their target.