TEL AVIV — Israel's military has warned that the Palestinian
Authority or aligned groups would acquire a range of rockets and
anti-aircraft missiles over the next few months.
Military intelligence has determined that Palestinian forces in the Gaza
Strip have or would acquire such weapons as the Soviet-origin Katyusha
rocket, SA-7 anti-aircraft missile and advanced variants of anti-tank
missiles in 2006. The assessment said the weapons would be provided by
Hizbullah and smuggled through Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.
In a lecture at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Zeevi-Farkash
said Palestinian insurgents have managed to smuggle weapons from the Sinai
Peninsula into the Gaza Strip. He said that despite Egyptian efforts,
weapons and insurgents continue to move through the Gaza-Egypt border, Middle East Newsline reported.
Military intelligence has termed AAMs and Katyushas as weapons that
could change the balance of power between Israel and the Palestinians.
"We estimate that in 2006 anti-aircraft missiles or Katyushas will
infiltrate the Gaza Strip and change the situation," outgoing military
intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash said.
[On Tuesday, Palestinian gunners fired missiles from the northern Gaza
Strip that landed in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. At least one missile
struck the industrial zone, which contains such strategic sites as an oil
terminal and water facility. Two cars were said to have been damaged.]
"I am worried about three things," Zeevi-Farkash, who left his post in
January, said on Feb. 9. "They are anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank
missiles and Katyushas. Today, it's easier to smuggle to the Gaza Strip
through Philadelphi [border zone]. This is a huge problem."
On
Feb. 2, military sources reported that Islamic Jihad launched its first
anti-aircraft weapon toward an AH-64A Apache attack helicopter in the
northern Gaza Strip. The helicopter was not struck.
"We have to obtain Egyptian cooperation or else the situation will
change," Zeevi-Farkash said.
