Hamas is arming Gaza to the teeth and eyeballs. They have obtained quantities of Russian anti-tank missiles, the AT-3 Sagger, the AT-4 Spigot, the AT-5 Spandrel and the AT-14 Spriggan (all with ranges of several kilometers), as well as the RPG-29 Vampir, a grenade launcher on steroids.
[Also] Hamas is recruiting fresh fighters. Once again, the model is Hizbullah, and the intention appears to be to develop a force part-way between a regular army and a guerrilla force, of the type developed under Iranian tutelage by the Shi’ite Lebanese group. Extensive recruitment has been taking place in the past month. New fighters have been accepted to both the Izzadin Kassam Brigades – Hamas’s long-standing military wing, and to the Executive Force – the newer group created since Hamas’s election victory in January 2006.
The latter force played the key role in Hamas’s rout of Fatah in its 2007 coup. Hamas claims to have around 20,000 men under arms, though some sources suggest that the number may be higher. Again, both Iran and Syria are thought to be playing a role in providing advanced training to cadres from both of these organizations: around 1,000 Hamas men are thought to have trained in one of these countries in the last months.
What does Hamas’s attempt to create “Fortress Gaza” mean? Its political leaders have consolidated their rule internally vis-Ã -vis other Palestinian forces. They are thought to face a certain problem from yet more radical Sunni Islamist currents among both the rank and file fighters and commanders of their own military organizations. But for the moment, with no serious internal challenge, Hamas is digging in.
The Hamas rulers believe that Israelis want only peace and quiet, which makes them both vulnerable and deterrable. Thus, Hamas is seeking to create a solid shield around its Gaza fiefdom that can be turned into a weapon of attack at a time and situation of its choosing.
Hamas is getting weapons and training from Iran (another client state of Russia, as well as the biggest source of instability in the region) and Syria, Iran’s little brother. Again, all of those westerners are wrong who think they have a sophisticated understanding of Islam, and believe Shia and Sunni won’t cooperate. It is evident that the ambition to destroy the Little Satan (Israel) is more than enough to unify them.
Hamas, which would suffer no attacks from Israel if Hamas simply stopped the attacks on Israel, and which complains daily about not having sufficient resources to feed its people, does seem to have the wherewithal to buy weapons, send militants for training, etc.
Essentially, Hamas is betting that Israel will be as casualty-phobic in the future as the USA seems to have become. Hamas cannot win a stand-up battle, and knows it, but intends to inflict casualties in any future conflict that will weaken the will of Israeli’s to fight… a tactic learned from Hizbollah in the 2006 Lebanon war.
What’s new about this? Hamas has never had a place where it could, with no restrictions, train and practice with heavy arms. Now it does, in Gaza, since the Israeli withdrawal.
July 11th, 2008 9:37 am
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