Hamas Is Taking Notes

Remember Hamas?
Less attention has been paid to it, what with all the attention being paid to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Seems that Hamas has also been paying close attention to Lebanon.
According to Haaretz, Hamas has seen the future--and it is in missiles, advanced missiles:

The war in Lebanon has left its impression on the streets of Ramallah: flags of Hezbollah, pictures of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and CDs with songs of praise to the new hero of the Arab world. But the heavy battles between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces have taught the West Bank gunmen new lessons - in future battles between Israel and the Palestinians, like in Lebanon, the missile will be victorious.

The Sagger missiles that have penetrated the advanced Merkava tanks and the long- and short-range rockets have roused great interest among the gunmen. "The most important strategic change brought about by this war, as far as the Palestinians are concerned, is the understanding of the power of the missile," says N., an analyst for a Palestinian media outlet.

Advanced missiles are promising to be the next hit with the Palestinian terror organizations, and public opinion sees them as the means to change the face of the conflict. The East Jerusalem newspaper Al-Quds published a caricature a few days ago of a missile passing through Israel's separation fence. The caption reads: "Israel didn't take this into account."

Kassams are like...so yesterday.

Now there is interest in the more sophisticated missiles, like the RPG missiles which are more available with the border with Egypt being more open, and the hope to bring the technology over to the West Bank as well.

Not all the terrorists claim to be so optimistic:

Nevertheless Shawish [Khaled Shawish, one of the founders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades], who has been in many a battle and attack, is not enthusiastic about the new approach. He walks through Ramallah with his M-16 and two other wanted men, Abu Udai, 28, and Abu Nidal, 30. "You still have complete military superiority and what do we have? One or two guns," he says. That is why they want to negotiate with Israel and reach a peace agreement, he says.

Is Shawish sincere?

Or is he just loathe to lose the image of the ragtag freedom fighter armed with stones and old rifles

Technorati Tag: Israel and Hamas.