Crossfire War – TEHRAN WATCH – West Asia Theatre: Tehran – Gaza/Jerusalem; Iran has Hamas Resume Qassam Rocket Fire – 7 Hit Sederot – 1 Hits Ashkelon – Period of Calm Over
Night Watch: SEDEROT – “After a period of calm we woke up this morning to explosions.” That was a quote from an Isreali resident of the town of Sederot in the Negev near the Gaza Strip. Reuters reports that the explosions were caused by Qassam rockets fired by Palestinian miltant groups the day after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called for militants to stop firing what he called, “pointless rockets” that harm Palestinian interests. Seven Qassams hit Sederot and one struck Ashkelon on the Mediterranean, the site of Israel’s largest oil terminal. With the larger rockets Tehran has been supplying Palestinian units with there is the potential for serious damage in Ashkelon which could cause a massive oil and envrionmental damage to Israel. [ASHARQALAWSAT]
What Abbas may not realize is that these militant groups are acting mostly in the interests of Tehran, interests that Islamic radicals on any front are in complete accord with. They are dedicated to destroy what they have been schooled and trained to believe are the enemies of Islam, one of them being Israel. Obviously Tehran did not want the period of calm to last long.
It was 10 months ago crossfirewar.com first reported the use of Qassam rockets. Though they have shorter range and less power than the Katyushas, Sederot was hit by so many Qassams earlier this year, a lot of the town had to be abandoned. This was the action that finally prompted Israel’s Defence Force to invade Gaza after the capture of the Israeli soldier two months ago, which stared the two-front war against Israel, Gaza and south Lebanon. But crossfirewar.com also has mentioned that some of the Qassams have increased ranges and are fitted with a chemical warhead that explodes in mid-air. They will probably be used during the next round of fighting that Tehran plans to be more devasting than the first, generating more inflammatory publicity fanning the flames of more Islamic radicalism, removing Islamic leaders like Abbas that are opposed to the Jihad and seen as to close to the West.
Earlier in the week it was also mentioned here that Tehran was having weapons shipments to Hamas increase, including Katyushas, anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and the transferring of a lot of Hezbollah fighters to the Gaza Strip to make Hamas a more conventional army unit, an extension of Iran’s military just as Hezbollah is in south Lebanon. Israel is currently discovering tunnels in Gaza leading into Israel. The news has also mentioned Hamas now has fortifications and bunkers similar to the ones constructed for Hezbollah. I suspect this latest Qassam fire is just the opening salvo to the next round of fighting that will engulf Syria who will become active on the third front against Israel – Golan.
Damascus’ involvement will enable Iran to activate the security agreement they signed with Syria in Tehran just two months ago. Iran will commit a few units in the name of it as a symbolic gesture to their support for Syria-Palestinian people. Then sit back and watch the economic impact the fighting will have on the price of energy on the industrialized world.
www.crossfirewar.com
