Hamas leader: ‘We make rockets from leftover Israeli irrigation pipes’

Sinwar recalled how a farmer took him to Gush Katif and showed him the abandoned irrigation lines left by Israeli farmers during the 2005 Gaza withdrawal.

By World Israel News Staff

In a speech broadcast in November on Gaza’s Al-Aqsa TV, a founder of Hamas’s military wing revealed how the terror organization has been able to continue producing rockets to launch against Israel, reports Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Yahya Sinwar began his speech by saying that the terrorist organization ran out of raw material to produce rockets.

“One day, some leaders of the Al-Qassam [Brigades] came. They were [responsible] for [missile] production. They said: ‘There are no pipes with which we can produce missiles. We are out of pipes. There is a ban on bringing iron in from outside, and we cannot bring them through the tunnels – these are long pipes. We will cease production within a month,” Sinwar said.

‘I said that Allah will help us find a way,” he reminisced.

The terrorist leader than revealed what happened next:

“Then, a simple farmer approached one of the men from the Brigades. He said: ‘I heard that you’re having a problem with pipes for missile production.’ The young man told him this was true. The [farmer] said: ‘I will give you the solution for this.’ [The young man said:] ‘What is it?’ He answered: ‘Come with me,” Sinwar said.

He recalled how the farmer took him to Gush Katif and showed him the abandoned irrigation lines left by Israeli farmers during the 2005 Gaza withdrawal.

“The brothers started digging and removed from the ground the pipes that the occupier left behind when it left the Gaza Strip. These would be enough for the Al-Qassam Brigades to manufacture missiles for the next 10 years,” Sinwar said.

During the 2005 unilateral disengagement from Gaza, Israel evicted a bloc of 17 communities in the Gaza Strip and four communities in northern Samaria.

The Gaza Strip communities, known collectively as Gush Katif, were fruitful, producing a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers for export.

Many Israelis believe that the disengagement, in which 8,600 Israelis lost their homes, was a mistake because it further enabled Hamas’s aggression towards Israel and led to an immediate deterioration in the security situation.