The Homemade Rocket That Could Change the Middle East
The Israeli army intercepted a truck carrying Qassam 2 missiles
Monday, Feb. 11, 2002
It may be a bottle rocket by comparison with Saddam's Scuds, but the new Qassam-2 missile developed by Hamas could have a far greater impact. Members of the radical Islamist group in Gaza on Sunday fired two of the home-made rockets into southern Israel — and although their warheads exploded harmlessly in an open field, the political shock waves are still being felt throughout Israel. The Israeli Defense Force responded with three heavy air raids over 24 hours on Palestinian security targets in Gaza City, and sent its tanks back into the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank. And that, in turn, prompted a crowd of 300 militant supporters to storm the Palestinian Authority prison in Hebron late Monday, freeing 10 Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders.
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