Palestinian self-made weaponry on the rise
Despite Israel's siege on the Gaza Strip, the armed wings of the Palestinian factions have managed to expand their military capabilities.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian armed factions may have some major surprises in store for Israel in any coming confrontation, political analysts close to the groups predict.
The factions have improved their intelligence resources and increased the size of their weapons cache by producing their own arms, sources told Al-Monitor recently. That has allowed them to cause unprecedented destruction; they were able to fire nearly 700 rockets in the last escalation in a short period of time, killing four and wounding dozens.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has said publicly that Iran has supplied Hamas with weapons, and Tehran is also thought to be providing weapons to the Islamic Jihad or at least helping it manufacture weapons.
However, analyst Hamza Abu Chanab, an expert on Palestinian factions, told Al-Monitor that the factions' military manufacturing relies on local capabilities and creativity: “Although the resistance had relied on the smuggling of missiles in the past, it is now relying on itself.”
