Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The fertilizer that is used to produce the rocket fuel comes from Israel, as the Hebrew writing on the bags shows.
Der Spiegel visits a Qassam Rocket factory in the Gaza Strip: A Visit to a Gaza Rocket Factory
...The vehicle finally stops at a dirt track. The Islamic Jihad rocket factory is housed in a kind of garden shed. The hut measures five meters by five meters, metal pipes with small wings lean against the wall in the corner: Half finished Qassams. There are several tightly packed garbage bags on a shelf. "TNT," says Abdul and produces a chunk. The explosive looks like lumpy sugar. A large cauldron is sitting ready on a gas cooker while bags with Hebrew writing are piled up high up against the wall. "Fertilizer for the rocket fuel," Abdul says and grins. "We get it in Israel."
Abdul is 22 but, tall and lanky as he is, he could still pass for 16. He has been making rockets for three and a half years and says he has finished hundreds of Qassams. A veteran with a double life: He studies geography during the day and makes his contribution to the Jihad at night...
...The team can make up to 100 rockets per night shift, but today it won't be more than 10. Instead of the usual 12, only three of Abdul's men have turned up tonight. "The other guys are over in Egypt, shopping," he says, adding that the militants are just ordinary people who want to experience the open border with the neighboring country. Will they be looking for ingredients for building the Qassams? "Hardly," the oldest of the group laughs. "They are buying potato chips. We have enough raw materials to last for a few years."...
Just ordinary people. Not uniformed. But if you inconvenience these chappies and their support system, an entire infrastructure, completely unequipped to handle this twist on modern war, stands ready to condemn the "collective punishment".
The article's photo gallery is here.
The terrorist rocket-builder says he feels badly when children are hit, but that is bullshit.
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