Last update - 00:00 04/03/2007
Police: Most rockets in Gaza made from parts acquired in Israel
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Most of the rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip are made from pipes and metal parts acquired in Israel, police said Sunday.
The report came after a gag order lifted Sunday revealed that the Shin Bet has arrested a Palestinian suspected of supplying Hamas militants with pipes used to produce Qassam rockets.
A'amar Zak, 37, was nabbed by security forces at the Erez Border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip and charged with assisting a terrorist organization.
According to Israel's security service, since the GOC Southern Command issued an order prohibiting the purchase of metal pipes from Israel Palestinian militants have been cut off from an important supply of metal used to produce the Qassams.
Over the past few years, thousands of Qassam rockets have been fired by Palestinians at civilian targets in the western Negev, killing dozens of Israelis.