Published: February 02, 2009 6:40 AM ET
LITTLE ROCK The United States sold phosphorus artillery shells made at the Pine Bluff Arsenal to Israel — the same kind of rounds allegedly used against civilians during the recent fighting in Gaza.
A State Department official told The Associated Press that the rounds — typically used to light up darkened battlefields or provide smoke cover for combat troops — were most recently shipped to Israel in 2007. International human rights groups accuse the Israeli military of firing the chemical rounds into civilian homes, causing severe burns to those inside and killing at least one woman.
International law allows for the use of the phosphorus shells, but not in areas where civilians could be harmed by the burning rounds.
The Pine Bluff Arsenal, a 13,000-acre base near Little Rock that once housed some of the Army's deadliest chemical and biological weapons, advertises itself as the only plant in North America capable of manufacturing the white phosphorus rounds. A photograph published by the British newspaper The Times taken during the recent fighting showed rounds waiting to be fired with Pine Bluff Arsenal serial numbers.
The arsenal referred calls about the phosphorus rounds to the Pentagon. Lt. Col. Almarah Belk, a military spokeswoman, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday. Previously, the military has said it supports "Israel's right to defend itself" and declined to comment about specific arms sales.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003936897
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