The US state department has said Israel violated the arms agreement when it unleashed cluster bombs into civilian inhabited southern Lebanon against prohibitions on using the weapon against populated areas, the New York Times today reported quoting officials.

The preliminary findings have sparked off a debate within the administration as to whether the United States should impose sanctions on Israel.

The notification to Congress would come tomorrow but a final determination on the Israeli violation was still being debated. It is important to remember the kind of war Hezbollah waged. They used innocent civilians as a way to shield their fighters, it quoted State Department spokesman Sean McCormack as saying.

In the event of Israel found guilty, President George W Bush has the statutory power to decide whether to impose sanctions on Israel or not, unless Congress decides to take legislative action, it said.

Early last year, Israel had acknowledged using thousands of cluster bombs in southern Lebanon as a counter to rocket attacks by militant outfit Hezbollah causing several civilian deaths. Cluster bombs are anti-personnel weapons that scatter tiny but deadly bomblets over a wide area. According to United Nations Mine Action Service, Israel fired many such bombs in Lebanon causing 30 deaths and injuring 180 among the civilians.