There have been three rocket-related incidents in the past two months, in which Palestinian Authority terrorists have managed to build rockets, including two incidents in which they attempted to fire the weapons at Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
In the most recent incident, a video posted Monday to social media showed operatives from the Hamas-linked Al Ayyash Brigades launching two homemade rockets from the village of Khirbet Zayid, near Jenin, toward the Israeli moshav Ram On, located about five miles northwest of Jenin, in the Gilboa region.
Watch: a Rocket Was Launched at Israel from Jenin in the PA
A crude sign handwritten in Arabic seen in the video read: “Al Ayyash Battalion: Firing towards Israeli settlements from Jenin, using Qassam-1 rockets, Monday, June 26, 2023. The West Bank protects Jerusalem.”
Neither rocket succeeded in reaching any altitude: one landed about 80 meters (87 yards) from the launcher, and the second landed about five meters (5.4 yards) away.
Monday’s attempted rocket fire came the day after an announcement about a similar incident last month, and a couple of days before the start of the Islamic Festival of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha. In general, terror-related incidents escalate around the Islamic holidays.
No Danger – Yet
The rockets did not pose a danger to the Jewish communities in the area, including Ram On, the IDF said in a brief statement.
הבוקר שוגרה רקטה מאזור העיר ג'נין שהתפוצצה בשטח פלסטיני. הרקטה לא היוותה סכנה לישובים באזור.
כוחות הביטחון הגיעו לסריקות במרחב, האירוע מתוחקר. אין נפגעים— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 26, 2023
“Security forces are searching the area and the incident is under investigation. There were no casualties,” the IDF said.
Released for Publication: Rocket Detected in Eastern Jerusalem
However, this is the second incident in two months in which a Palestinian Authority terrorist has attempted to launch rocket fire at Israeli communities.
Who is Al Ayyash?
The Al Ayyash Brigades are named for Hamas bombmaking terrorist Yahya Ayyash, a college-educated electrical engineer assassinated by Shin Bet intelligence agents in January 1996.
Local Palestinian Authority communities have kept his memory fresh and sweet, naming streets and other venues in his honor, and the relatively new terror wing is working hard to establish itself as a credible threat to Israelis living in Judea and Samaria.
Rocket Found in Jerusalem Arab Neighborhood
The Shin Bet intelligence agency released a statement Sunday announcing that security personnel had detected the presence of a rocket in the mostly Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina in northern Jerusalem.
An Arab suspect from the Palestinian Authority village of Aj’ul (north of Ramallah) who was arrested in connection with the incident said he had learned to build the rocket from searching the internet and the Telegram messaging app.
The rocket, which was found to be empty of explosives, was discovered in an area on the other side of the security barrier during Jerusalem Day festivities in the Israeli capital.
Rocket Launch Attempted in Early May
Earlier in May, Palestinian Authority terrorists in the village of Nazlat Zayd, a few miles north of Tulkarem and close to Jenin, broadcast a video in which they were seen attempting to launch a rocket at the Jewish community of Shaked.
Nazlat Zayd is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northeast of Netanya.
Israeli military forces tracked down the rocket launcher and the remains of a rocket that still contained some explosives.
Shin Bet: ‘A Dangerous Precedent’
The Shin Bet released a statement last month announcing the terrorists involved in trying to launch the rocket were part of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell acting on orders from Gaza, and which was dismantled with their arrest.
At that time, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said in a statement that the cell “had already begun producing rockets and launchers in order to fire rockets from Samaria at Israel . . . We see this as a dangerous precedent. The members of the cell were arrested and confessed. We have no intention of allowing Afula or Shaked to be targeted by high-trajectory rocket fire.”
