On the night of 11 November, 2018 the prestige of the Israeli elite force, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit “Sayeret Matkal” was damaged by the Palestinian fighters of the “Al-Qassam Brigades” and the consequences of the operation led to the resignation of notable members of the Israeli government. The Israelis believed that Sayeret Matkal using the latest modern technological means, they could breach the security and military system of the Qassam Brigades, but apparently they failed.
Gaza
Tactical Analysis: How Hamas Captured an IDF Tavor X95 From the Nahal Oz Pillbox
During Israeli military campaign against Gaza in 2014, Hamas and its military wing, the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam brigades, released a video showing a group of their fighters from the وحدة الأنفاق ‘Tunnel Unit’ raiding an Israeli Army’s pillbox in the Nahal Oz area east of the Gaza strip. Footage from the operation was broadcasted on Al-Aqsa TV (a Palestinian television broadcasting station), which was a smart propaganda move to contribute to the psychological war against the Israelis and raise the morale of the Palestinians. The entire operation was captured on video, although some segments were edited to hide operational techniques. Hamas fighters also displayed the Tavor X95 5.56x45mm rifle captured from an Israeli soldier – the topic of this article. We will examine the footage and analyse the tactics used by the fighters who carried out the raid and captured the rifle.
V18: IDF Gear Review and Excalibur Grenade Launcher in Libya
In the 18th episode of Silah Report, our guest was IDF Gear Review, who enlightened us about small arms in Israel. He also shed light on some of the cultural aspects of the IDF. Miles spoke about his brief experience with one of the IDF units when he visited Israel recently. Finally, an extremely exotic grenade launcher found in Libya and following some research has been able to enlighten us about its origins.
V6: Bulgarian Arsenal rifles in Gaza and Egypt, Crazy AK Stocks throughout MENA, and
Adham, Analyst Mick, Daniel Casingena, Vladimir, and Miles talk about Egyptian small arms in the NFC Pattern Room in Leeds, mind-boggling Kalashnikov stocks and even a North Korean Type 68 rifle for sale in Idlib.
(Palestinian Yassin RPG) السلاح الفلسطيني قاذف الصواريخ ياسين
This is an article translated into Arabic about the locally produced Yassin RPG in use by Hamas in the Gaza strip. The English version can be accessed here.
بسبب الحروب العربية الاسرائيلية, اهتم الجناح العسكري لمنظمة “حماس” الا وهي “الوية عز الدين القسام” , بالتصنيع العسكري حتى تحصل على اكتفاء ذاتي لتقلل فعالية و تاثير الحظر الاقتصادي التي تفرضها اسرائيل على “غزة” من حين لاخر.
هذه المقالة تسلط الاضواء على احد الصناعات العسكرية المثيرة للانتباه وهي صناعة قواذف الصواريخ من نوع “ياسين” في غزة في منشئات انتاجية تحت الارض حتى لا يتم استهدافها من قبل سلاح الطياران و المدافع الاسرائيلية. هذا القاذف تم تصميمه و تصنيعه من قبل “حماس” و يتم توزيعه الى حركات مقاومة اخرى من ضمنها “فتح” و “الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين”.
تاريخ السلاح
يحمل القاذف اسم القائد الروحي و مؤسس حركة حماس الشيخ “احمد ياسين” الذي اغتيل عن طريق صاروخ من نوع “هيل فاير” من هيليكوبتر اسرائيلية نوع “اباتشي” في الثاني و العشرين من مارس سنة 2004 وهو في عمر السابعة والستون.
مصمم السلاح هو المهندس “عدنان الغول” والذي قتل ايضا في نفس السنة في الواحد وعشرون من شهر اكتوبر عن طريق غارة جوية اسرائيلية.
موصافات السلاح
تصميم القاذف “ياسين” فريد من نوعه ولكن يشبه كثيرا القاذف الروسي القديم “ار بي جي-2” مع بعض مواصفات القاذف الاحدث “ار بي جي-7”. اخذ السلاح تصميم الانبوب و شكل الخارجي للصاروخ من “ار بي جي-2” وايضا محرك الصاروخ , وتعتبر تصاميمها بسيطة للغاية ولكن لتحسين الاداء اضافوا تصميم “ار بي جي-7” للفوهة الخلفية التي تعكس الارتداد عند اطلاق الصاروخ. واضافوا ايضا معزز صاروخي للذخيرة لزيادة مدى السلاح و طوروا من الشكل الداخلي للراس المتفجر للصاروخ.
مع انه يتم تصنيع السلاح في ورش تحت الارض باستخدام ادوات عادية وفي متناول المدنيين , ولكن تصميم وابتاكر “الياسين” وجودة التصنيع يدل على مستوى عالي من الاحترافية و التطور مع ان تصميم السلاح يتعبر من ناحية التقنية بسيط للغاية.
ياسين” في ساحة القتال”
يعتبر السلاح غير فعال ضد المركبات المدرعة لان اسرائيل في تطوير دائم و تحسين لها , ولكن “كتائب صلاح الدين” و يعتبر الذراع العسكري لمنظمة “اللجنة الشعبية للمقاومة في غزة” زعموا تدمير دبابة اسرائيلية من نوع “ميركافا مارك 3” عن طريق استهداف نقطة ضعف فيها.
مع ذلك, يعتبر السلاح فعال ضد الحصون المصنوعة من طوب و الاهداف التي تمتلك تدريع خفيف كسيارات “الهامفي” الاسرائيلية لانها تستطيع اختراق فولاذ بسماكة 21سم على بعد 150 متر.
التقاصيل
النوع : قاذف صاروخ (ار بي جي) ” ياسين”
المصمم: عدنان الغول
دور السلاح: مضاد للدبابات, تحصينات و الافراد
مكان التصنيع: غزة , فلسطين
فترة الخدمة : 2004- الى الان
الوزن: 7 كيلوجرم – 15 باوند
الطول: 95سم- 37″ انش
العيار: 40مم محرك الصاروخ و 85مم للراس المتفجر
سرعة الفوهة: 295 متر/ث
المدى الفعال: 300 متر
اداة التصويب: مسددات
Palestinian Authority “Returns” Israeli CAR15 (Sans Bolt) after Patrol Attacked in West Bank
An Isreali Defense Forces patrol was attacked with several members severely beaten before an armed Palestinian Authority element came to their aid in the vicinity of Jenin, West Bank. From the Alemeiner-
The two soldiers, a man and a woman, were lightly to moderately injured. Images of the female soldier’s bloody face circulated on social media after she was injured by shattered windshield glass. She was evacuated to a hospital in Afula.
Video from the attack shows the mob haranguing and attacking the soldiers as they cried out.
An initial investigation found that the soldiers had been misdirected to the Palestinian city by the Waze navigation app on their journey from Shavei Shomron in Samaria to Afula in the Jezreel Valley.
A Palestinian Authority policeman intervened to protect the Israeli soldiers, ultimately firing into the air to disperse the crowd. Over 100 members of the PA security forces were called out to escort the soldiers to safety and return their jeep to Israel, according to a PA security official interviewed by the Jerusalem Post, who also said that the effort was made both to protect human life and prevent Israeli reprisals against Jenin.
Various Palestinian social media outlets have released images of a Colt CAR15 that appeared to have been returned to IDF forces after the encounter. The IDF has made extensive use of U.S. CAR15s, M16A1s, M16A2s, and even M4s for a number of decades, currently supplementing the IWI Tavor now in service with frontline troops.
From Gaza Now, a Palestinian social media account–
بعد محاصرة الشاب الفلسطيني الذي استولى و تمكن من إغتنام سلاح مجندين جيش الاحتلال .
#عاجل : أجهزة أمن السلطة الفلسطينية تسلم الاحتلال الإسرائيلي السلاح الذي استولى عليه الفلسطينيين في مدينة #جنين اليوم .
#صور: مسربة للسلاح قبل تسليمه لجيش الاحتلال
Notice the earlier A1 forward assist and A1 rotary dial rear sight. In addition, notice the shorter telescoping stock which is signatory of the CAR15 series. Also note that the upper and the lower receiver don’t match, possibly indicating that the two parts were interchanged throughout the life of the rifle.
But more interesting than the rifle is the fact that the bolt and charging handle appears to be missing from it. This could have been intentional on the part of the Palestinians who captured the rifle.
The Israeli soldiers appear to have taken a beating but fortunately are still alive. They probably could do with a remedial land navigation course, and not rely on Waze to get from one tactical objective to another.
Yassin RPG – The Underground RPG of Gaza
Due to the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine, Hamas with its military wing al-Qassam brigades has developed their own tools of war in order to preserve self-sufficiency in order to not be affected by the blockade made on Gaza strip.
This article will spotlight on one of the more interesting craft produced rocket launchers in Gaza , which is literally underground since their production facilities are protected in underground bunkers from IDF air raids and artillery strikes.
It is designed and manufactured by Hamas, but they distribute the launchers to other resistance troops working in Gaza, including Fatah and the PFLP (Popular Front for Liberating Palestine).
History
The weapon is named after Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and the spiritual leader of Hamas who was assassinated by Hellfire missiles shot from an Israeli AH-64 Apache Helicopter gunship on March 22, 2004, at the age of 67.
It was designed by Adnan al-Ghoul who was also assassinated by an Israeli air strike on October 21st, 2004.
Characteristics
The Yassin RPG is a unique design that resembles the RPG-2 combined with RPG-7 with some improvised design features, From RPG-2 it took the launching tube design and the warhead external shape and the rocket motor which are very simple, but to improve the performance they added some features from the RPG-7 such as the nozzle at the launcher’s rear to deflect recoil generated by launching the rocket, they also added a rocket booster to be attached to the propelled grenade to extend it’s range, and the internal shaped charge of the warhead is enhanced as well.
The manufacturing process occurs in underground workshops using ordinary shop tools, but the conception and engineering of the weapon seem to have a high degree of sophistication and professionalism given the lack of technology of the design.
In Action
According to the continuous improvements of armor in Israeli armored vehicles, the RPG is believed to be not effective against them. However, Saladin brigades (the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committee in Gaza) claimed to destroy a Merkava Mk.3 MBT by targeting a weak point of the tank. Yet, the weapon is very effective against brick fortifications and soft-skinned armor as it can penetrate a 21 cm steel plate from 150 meters.
Specifications
Model : Yassin RPG
Designer : Adnan al-Ghoul
Type : Anti-Tank, Anti-Personnel
Place of Origin : Gaza, Palestine
Manufacturer: al-Qassam brigades, R&D unit
In Service: 2004 – Current
Weight : 7 kg (15 lbs)
Length : 95 cm (37″)
Caliber: 40 mm rocket engine ; 85 mm warhead
Muzzle velocity: 295 m/s
Effective range: 300 m
Sights: Iron sights
