AL QUDS, April 27: Israel’s high court on Sunday rejected a petition by two human rights organizations against the Israeli army’s use of dart bombs, Israel Radio reported.

The petition was submitted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHR-Israel).

In its ruling on Sunday, the court accepted the state’s position that the weapon, using “flechettes”, from the French word “fleche” for arrow, was a necessary one.

The Israeli army argues that the use of flechettes in combat is not forbidden under international law. It says it has issued special instructions for their use against militants outside towns, cities and refugee camps.

The army’s Southern Command, into which the Gaza Strip falls, authorized their use following the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada in late 2000.

Human rights groups concede international law does not explicitly prohibit flechettes. But they argue that their use in densely- populated areas amounts to indiscriminate killing, forbidden under international law, as it is impossible to aim at a precise target with them.

According to the petition, at least 12 Palestinian civilians were killed by flechettes since the Intifada broke out 30 months ago.

Flechette shells contain several thousand small metal darts, which on explosion scatter over a cone-scaped area of about 300 metres long and 90 metres wide. They were developed by the United States army during the Vietnam War.—dpa