http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=11/17/00&id=101251
U.S. doctor: IDF not using Dum-Dum bullets
But explains high-velocity rounds cause similar, devastating effects
By David Ratner, Ha'aretz Correspondent
Ha'aretz 11/17/2000
Dr. Robert Kirschner, a forensic pathologist at the medical school of
the University of Chicago, wrote to colleagues in the Palestinian
Authority this week, demanding that they cease using the term "Dum-Dum
bullets" when describing injuries caused by shots fired by Israel
Defense Forces soldiers. These bullets, which are banned by many
international conventions, expand on impact, causing devastating
damage to human bodies.
Kirschner, a member of Physicians for Human Rights in the United
States, was reacting to a report, published in the press on Sunday,
according to which a doctor at a hospital in Bethlehem claimed that an
American photographer was injured in the city by a Dum-Dum bullet
fired by the IDF.
Since the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada, the Palestinians have made
repeated claims that the IDF is using Dum-Dum bullets; however, an
investigation carried out by Ha'aretz and supported by a report
compiled by Kirschner, shows these claims to be inaccurate.
Kirschner visited the territories two weeks ago and released a
detailed report entitled "Evaluation of the Use of Force in Israel,
Gaza and the West Bank - A Medical and Forensic Examination." The
report - compiled with the help of Dr. Nizam Peerwani, a forensic
pathologist, and Dr. James Cobey, an orthopedic surgeon - harshly
criticizes the use of force by the IDF. Nevertheless, in the section
dealing with ammunition, it determines that the Palestinian claim that
Dum-Dum bullets are used is wrong.
The fact that the Palestinian doctors have had to deal with a large
number of serious injuries and deaths, coupled perhaps with
inexperience in the field of pathology, led them to determine that the
IDF is using Dum-Dum bullets, the report says. Presumably, the PA's
propaganda apparatus found it convenient not to correct the mistake.
As early as 1899, the Hague Convention outlawed the use of Dum-Dum
bullets.
The original idea of the Dum-Dum bullet, which expands into the form
of a mushroom on impact, led to the development of two main types of
bullet: a soft-point bullet and a bullet with a hollow point, both of
which are known as "expanding bullets." The use of such bullets by
military forces is banned, but they are very popular among police
forces and anti-terror units throughout the world, including Israel.
Regulation military bullets are copper-coated and do not have any
holes or exposed lead at their tips.The IDF denies that its soldiers,
and particularly its snipers, are making use of expanding bullets. The
IDF says it uses two types of bullets: 7.62-mm and 5.56-mm cartridges,
which are used by "numerous organizations and armies around the
world."
An examination conducted by Ha'aretz revealed that IDF snipers use M24
rifles that fire 7.62-mm cartridges manufactured by Israel Military
Industries (IMI). The rounds for these cartridges are manufactured by
an American company, Sierra, which shows in its catalog that these
rounds have a hollow point. Dave Brown, of Sierra, says, however, that
the bullet does not expand on impact. "It is not manufactured with the
intention of expanding on impact because it is a bullet designed for
accurate firing and an expanding bullet will always be less accurate,"
he says.
According to Brown, the U.S. government tested the bullet some eight
years ago and ruled that it can be used for military purposes. "Our
experience shows that it is very rare for the bullet to expand," Brown
says. "It could happen in special circumstances."
The 5.56-mm cartridge that the IDF uses is not an expanding bullet.
According to Kirschner's report: "The confusion regarding the type of
ammunition used by the IDF is not unusual in situations where
high-velocity ammunition, not previously in common use, has been
introduced ... The massive tissue destruction caused by the release of
kinetic energy from this small projectile, which often disintegrates
in the body, produces a frightening clinical presentation."
Apparently, a rifle bullet that strikes the human body at a velocity
of more than 700 meters per second causes similar damage to that
caused by an expanding bullet.
"A bullet that strikes tissue at a high velocity creates a shock-wave
in the body," Kirschner says. "It was surprising to see that the most
serious injuries were not caused by the sniper rifles, which fire
7.62-mm rounds. These bullets easily pass through the human body. The
serious damage was caused by the 5.56-mm bullets ... the 5.56-mm
rounds change direction in the body ... and the worst thing is that
they break up inside the body. They leave along their path fragments
of metal and a lead and copper 'dust' ... It is no wonder that with
such damage, the Palestinians thought that they were being fired at
with Dum-Dum bullets."
According to the president of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief
Committees, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, who is responsible for gathering
data on casualties in the PA, "It doesn't really matter whether they
are using Dum-Dum bullets or not. We are now aware of the damage
caused by high-velocity bullets, which behave like Dum-Dum rounds,
even if they do not fit the definition. We are dealing with rifles
that are intended for war, not for firing on civilians.
