GAZA CITY — Hamas has acquired heavy machine guns supplied by the
United States to the Palestinian Authority and has already fired them against Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Palestinian sources said the new Hamas regime has deployed heavy machine
guns donated by the United States to PA security agencies in the Gaza Strip
in early 2007.
The sources said the captured guns were transferred to
Hamas's new coast guard, assigned to protect against smuggling and Israeli
attacks from the Mediterranean.
[On Thursday, Syrian radio reported that Israeli fighter-jets entered
Syrian air space in an attempted strike. The radio said Syria's military
fired surface-to-air missiles and the Israeli jets fled during the
confrontation on early Thursday. The Israeli military refused to comment, Middle East Newsline reported.]
The machine guns opened fire against an Israeli AH-64 Apache attack
helicopter on Sept. 3, the sources said. Israel has acknowledged Palestinian
ground fire toward the Apache during its mission in the central Gaza Strip.
This was the first time Hamas was said to have acquired U.S.-supplied
heavy weapons. Throughout 2007, the Bush administration had assured Congress
that security aid to the PA consisted of non-lethal equipment.
Hamas was also said to have captured Russian-made heavy machine guns
from PA arsenals. The sources said they did not know whether the Russian
weapons have been used against Israel.
The sources said Hamas forces have preferred to employ heavy machine
guns against Israeli aircraft rather than SA-7 anti-aircraft systems. They
said Hamas does not have enough surface-to-air missiles for sustained air
defense.
