According to the security chief, Hamas and Islamic Jihad together have an arsenal of approximately 5,000 rockets in the Gaza Strip, of which some 80 percent are held by Hamas.Abu Ahmad, spokesman for the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, would not confirm or deny Diskin’s estimate, but added, “The attempt to link this information to lifting the siege on Gaza reflects the enemy’s bad intentions. Israel is cooking up excuses and pretexts to maintain the unjust siege.”The majority of the estimated 5,000 projectiles are homemade rockets with ranges of up to 40 km., but the “imports,” Diskin said, came through tunnels connecting to the Sinai – and the quality of these tunnels, he added, was “improving.”“Smuggling in Sinai is an integral part of daily life there,” Diskin emphasized, “and it is a central source of income for the local Beduin.”He added that “Sinai is a focal point for al-Qaida ‘refugees’ fleeing Iraq through Jordan. All kinds of terror associates come to Sinai from the Gaza Strip, as do representatives of Hizbullah. Sinai is a large area that is difficult to control through the entry permits that are issued.”
Diskin: Removing blockade dangerous
Shin Bet Chief: There is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
According to the security chief, Hamas and Islamic Jihad together have an arsenal of approximately 5,000 rockets in the Gaza Strip, of which some 80 percent are held by Hamas.Abu Ahmad, spokesman for the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, would not confirm or deny Diskin’s estimate, but added, “The attempt to link this information to lifting the siege on Gaza reflects the enemy’s bad intentions. Israel is cooking up excuses and pretexts to maintain the unjust siege.”The majority of the estimated 5,000 projectiles are homemade rockets with ranges of up to 40 km., but the “imports,” Diskin said, came through tunnels connecting to the Sinai – and the quality of these tunnels, he added, was “improving.”“Smuggling in Sinai is an integral part of daily life there,” Diskin emphasized, “and it is a central source of income for the local Beduin.”He added that “Sinai is a focal point for al-Qaida ‘refugees’ fleeing Iraq through Jordan. All kinds of terror associates come to Sinai from the Gaza Strip, as do representatives of Hizbullah. Sinai is a large area that is difficult to control through the entry permits that are issued.”