TEL AVIV — Israel's military has concluded that the Palestinian
Authority has facilitated insurgency missile strikes from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli military sources said PA security forces have allowed insurgency
gunners to fire missiles and rockets from the northern Gaza Strip into
Israel. They said the gunners fired Kassam-class, short-range missiles a
stone's throw away from PA bases and posts.
"PA security forces moved into the evacuated territories, including
evacuated areas in the northern Gaza Strip, and set up numerous posts in
these areas," an Israeli military statement said on April 3. "Nonetheless,
projectile rocket launchings from these areas, at times right by security
forces posts, has continued unabated."
On Tuesday, Palestinian gunners fired at least five Kassam missiles
toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon, Middle East Newsline reported. One fell in the city's industrial zone,
which contains a major power station and other vital facilities. Israeli
sources said the missile landed near inflammable waste.
Overnight Wednesday, Palestinian gunners fired another two missiles into
Israel. Nobody was reported injury by either missile salvo.
"We are seeing the beginning of a weapons industry in the Gaza Strip,
with the entry of knowledgeable people from Arab and Islamic states," Yuval
Steinitz, outgoing chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee, said on Wednesday.
The military's Southern Command has warned the PA that Israel would not
spare the posts of the Palestinian security forces near Kassam launch pads.
On Tuesday, Israeli artillery units shelled the area of Beit Lahiya, where
PA police established outposts.
Israeli aircraft also fired several missiles toward the compound of PA
headquarters in Gaza City. The attack injured two Palestinians and destroyed
a landing strip.
"The IDF will not be responsible for Palestinian security personnel who
are harmed as a result of an IDF response to Palestinian rocket-fire in
these areas," the military said. "It is important to note that, although
this warning is also obviously directed towards Palestinian civilians,
civilians are not present in these areas, which are mainly used by
Palestinian security forces and terror cells."
