West Bank improvised rocket artillery not to be underestimated: Media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
3 Aug 2023 13:08
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Former Israeli occupation reserve major generals recommend the early halting of the phenomenon of developing local shells.

Eight Qassam Launchers in Gaza, 6 July 2007 (Israeli military)

Israeli media on Thursday called not to underestimate the threat of rockets launched from the occupied West Bank, or those that could reach from the Gaza Strip into the center of the occupied Palestinian territories.

The media highlighted that during the past three months, the Palestinian Resistance targeted Israeli settlements around the occupied West Bank with improvised rocket artillery.

Former Israeli occupation reserve major generals Uzi Dayan and Gad Shamni, as well as the former head of the "Homa" authority, Uzi Rubin, recommended targeting the Palestinian Resistance and the early halting of the phenomenon of developing local shells.

Rubin called on the security and military institutions to deal with the threats of rockets and missiles, whose ranges reach hundreds of kilometers, advising them not to underestimate the effectiveness of these improvised missiles.

He recalled that the firing of rockets originated from the Gaza Strip, pointing to the similarities between what is happening today in the West Bank and what happened in the Gaza Strip between 2000 and 2002.

Rubin explained that before their capabilities and performance gradually improved, these rockets were manually self-manufactured in garages, factories, and homes, and their warheads were usually prepared from the remnants of several ammunition and mines.

He noted that the Qassam rockets were the first to be launched by Hamas into the illegal Israeli settlement of "Sderot" northern Gaza Strip in April 2001.

According to Rubin, "Israel" found it difficult to deal with the first generation of the Qassam rockets due to their small size and weight (up to 5 kg), which resembled at that time Shoulder-fired rockets that could be transported from one location to another.

Rubin suggested that "Israel" fears the transfer of the technology to develop rockets from Gaza to the West Bank.

The Israeli media claimed that Hamas and Iran are working to develop missile capabilities in the West Bank, adding that Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri is responsible for the movement's military arm in the occupied West Bank.

It also mentioned that Al-Arouri hoped earlier that the Resistance in the West Bank would succeed in obtaining rockets.

On his part, former reserve Major General Uzi Dayan called for not underestimating rocket attacks because they are easy to be carried out by Palestinian Resistance factions, explaining that such rockets do not require a vehicle to be launched from.

Elsewhere, Dayan considered that the capabilities of the Palestinian factions in the West Bank to manufacture rockets are weak today, but they can develop and improve, describing the rocket threat as "very harmful" to Israeli settlers.

Deep concern in 'Israel', IOF fears Jenin turning into Gaza

Last week, Israeli media outlets reported that the Shin Bet is extremely concerned over the firing of a rocket towards the settlement of "Ram-On" in the West Bank.

The media reported that the Israeli occupation military and Shin Bet will not allow for the occupied areas surrounding Jenin to experience what Gaza envelope settlements went through 20 years ago.

Or Heller, the military expert for Israeli Channel 13, said that the Israeli military found rocket remnants near the village of Silat al-Harithiya near Jenin, noting that Palestinian factions, including Al-Ayyash Brigade, a Resistance group belonging to Hamas's military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, are attempting to transform Jenin into a second Gaza.

The expert stressed that the firing of the rocket towards "Ram-On" is of deep concern to Israelis and worries its security apparatuses that are working to halt the Resistance's progress in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Heller also pointed to the footage of an intricate tunnel system built in the refugee camp of Jenin, which Resistance fighters utilized to defend the camp from intruding Israeli occupation forces on July 3, a strategy used by factions in Gaza to protect themselves from Israeli air strikes.

Last week, Al-Ayyash Brigade - Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that its fighters fired a Qassam-1 rocket toward the illegal Israeli settlement of "Ram-On", which Heller claims flew for only 30 meters and failed to continue, in response to settlers' violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a statement, the Brigade announced, "Our fighters struck the Ram-On settlement in the Jenin area with a Qassam-1 rocket in response to the aggression of the occupation and settlers against Al-Aqsa."