Hamas Attacks On Israel: Made In China

On December 29, Ha'aretz reported:

Yesterday, Palestinians launched upgraded Katyushas with a maximum range of 40 kilometers. The rockets landed in moshavim adjacent to Ashdod.

The two long-range Katyushas fired yesterday were made either in China or Iran. Their maximum range is just shy of 40 kilometers; those fired reached a maximum distance of 34.4 kilometers.

Two days later, YnetNews.com reported on 2 Kassams fired by Hamas terrorists at a Beersheba school. At that time, there was no doubt about who had made the rockets:

The army official said the rocket that struck the school in Beersheba was manufactured in China, is heavier than the Qassam and can "potentially cause much greater damage." He said the rocket contains metal pallets that can spread out across a radius of up to 100 meters (about 328 feet) from the point of impact.

I assume that the metal pellets are an innovation introduced by Hamas.

In China, Sponsor of Hamas Terrorism, Gordon G. Chang writes that China could not have been unaware of what their rockets would be used for:

The Chinese have been deeply involved in Iran’s use of the weapons it has purchased from them. They have, for instance, been supplying the Iranians with small arms and the components for roadside bombs and have worked with Tehran so that these items could be put into the hands of insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan without interdiction. In view of the long and close relationships with its Iranian customers on even purchases of small items, it is inconceivable Beijing did not know how its big rockets would be used. Chinese officials might not have known that Hamas would fire one off at a school in Beersheba on December 31, but they had more than just an inkling they would be directed at citizens in southern Israel.

Given that China did have an idea that the rockets would go to Hamas and that they would be used against Israel, whose relations with China are supposedly good--why would China go ahead with such a deal. Maybe there are still hard feelings after Israel canceled an arms deal with China after pressure from the US?

Or maybe it's just business--just one more armsbroker for Israel to worry about along with Russia and Iran.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Operation Cast Lead.