TEL AVIV Ñ Israel says the Palestinian Authority has developed a new
anti-tank missile.
Israeli military officers said the missile is termed Al Bana and was
first fired three weeks ago toward an Israeli tank. The missile was said to
have missed its target.
"We don't know the range of the missile," a senior officer said. "The
missile that was fired traveled only a few meters."
The Al Bana is said to have been produced in Palestinian weapons
factories in the Gaza Strip. The officers said the PA has production
capability, but it is not clear whether it has decided to launch serial
production of the missile.
"Until now, it [missile] has not proven to be effective," Brig. Gen.
Yisrael Ziv, the commander of Israeli forces in Gaza, said. "The production
capacity of this new anti-tank missile is a new development."
The PA and its Islamic allies have so far produced several models of
mortars as well as the Kassam-class short-range rocket. Israeli officers
said that since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian war in September 2000
the Palestinians have sought to develop a weapon to stop Israeli tanks and
armored vehicles.
Ziv said the Palestinians are also seeking to develop an anti-aircraft
weapon. The brigadier said the goal is to down Israeli attack helicopters.
"They are developing this capability," Ziv said. "We don't know of any
concrete attempt to use this."
