'Allah, bring rockets upon Tel Aviv'
Pastor Dale Morgan
'Allah, bring rockets upon Tel Aviv'*
Terror leader prays for attacks on central Israel even if Arabs hit
Posted: August 4, 2006
10:51 a.m. Eastern
News From Israel
JERUSALEM – Palestinian groups pray Hezbollah follows through with
threats of firing long-range rockets into Tel Aviv even though some
projectiles could fall short and land in Arab areas, a senior terror
leader here tsaid in an interview.
"We hope (Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah) will hit Tel Aviv very
soon. ... Our dream is to see the Zionists in the center of occupied
Palestine under rocket attack – a thing they have not felt in all the
Arab-Israel conflict," said Abu Maamun, a senior leader in Jenin of the
Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group. "This is the dream of the great
majority of our people. We pray that this will happen."
The Brigades, the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, is responsible for scores of
shooting attacks, rocket launchings and, together with Islamic Jihad,
every suicide bombing inside Israel the past two years.
Brigades leaders said they coordinate their attacks with Hezbollah and
receive funding from the Iranian-sponsored Lebanese group.
Nasrallah warned last night in a televised broadcast that Hezbollah
would target Tel Aviv if Beirut was attacked by Israel.
"If our capital, Beirut, is attacked, we will attack your capital, Tel
Aviv," Nasrallah threatened.
Nasrallah made the statements yesterday after Israel Air Force aircraft
dropped leaflets over Beirut calling on residents of three Shiite
neighborhoods in the south of the city to evacuate their homes.
Israeli officials warned if a rocket hits Tel Aviv, the Israeli army
will destroy the infrastructure of Lebanon.
Military officials say they take Nasrallah's threat seriously. They
estimate once Hezbollah fears it is "losing the war," the terror group
will fire rockets incrementally more toward central Israel, eventually
targeting Tel Aviv. They also think Nasrallah would like to end the war
with a dramatic attack, such as firing rockets at Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah is known to possess multiple long range rockets capable of
reaching Tel Aviv and beyond, including the Zalzel rocket, with a range
of up to 125 miles. Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial capital, is about 90
miles from the Jewish state's border with Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Hezbollah fired a Khaiber-1 long range rocket into
Israel. The rocket, with a range of up to 70 miles, was thought to have
been aimed at towns near Netanya, which is north of Tel Aviv, but it
fell short and landed in the West Bank, just outside the Palestinian
city of Jenin.
Abu Maamun, whose terrorist cell is located about a quarter mile from
where the Khaiber-1 landed, said he urges rocket attacks on Tel Aviv
even though some projectiles might fall short and kill Palestinians.
"The rocket here fell just meters from us and the people and everybody
here were very proud," said Abu Maamun. "We are ready to sacrifice
ourselves if Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Dimona and elsewhere is bombarded.
Inshallah (may Allah help), it will happen."
The terror leader agreed with Israeli intelligence estimates Hezbollah
would only target Tel Aviv if it perceives it is "losing" the war.
"I think and I have no doubt that they have the ability to target Tel
Aviv and that the question when to do so depends on the situation on the
ground," Abu Maamun said. "As long as the hero Nasrallah will manage to
lead an equal fight with Israel it will not target Tel Aviv and will
leave this to the next round in a few months."
Since the war began, Hezbollah has claimed multiple wins in the
confrontation with Israel. It has fired about 2,000 Katyusha rockets on
northern Israeli cities, gradually increasing the distance of the rocket
attacks. Haifa, Israel's third largest city, is now under regular rocket
barrage.
Hezbollah has staged multiple deadly ambushes against Israeli troops,
dragging soldiers operating in south Lebanon into face-to-face combat
with devastating results.
In what Israel admitted was a major blow to its navy, Hezbollah three
weeks ago hit a naval ship with an Iranian Silkworm C-802 radar-guided
anti-ship cruise missile, killing four soldiers and damaging the
warship. It was the first time the missile had been introduced in the
battle with Israel. Military officials here said the Israeli ship's
radar system was not calibrated to detect the Silkworm, which is
equipped with an advanced anti-tracking system.
In retaliation for the ambushes, kidnappings and rocket barrages, Israel
has attacked installations throughout Lebanon, both in southern
Hezbollah strongholds as well as in Lebanon's larger cities of Tyre and
Beirut.