IDF “China-made QBZ, QLA-87, etc. are kept and used by Hamas”
Israeli official: “The best equipment that Hamas did not have before”
Military expert: “The issue is whether China intervened…Iran probably intervened.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas was using a large stockpile of Chinese-made assault rifles and grenade launchers in combat with its own forces.
According to the Telegraph on the 5th (local time), the IDF announced that it had secured and analyzed Hamas’ high-tech equipment stockpile and discovered Chinese-made QBZ assault rifles and QLA-87 (Type 87 automatic grenade launcher).
He added that Hamas’s equipment included shell cases and telescopic sights for M16 rifles, as well as an array of communication equipment such as voice equipment and military tactical radios.
Israeli investigators are focusing their efforts on finding out how the equipment ended up in Hamas’ hands, leaving open the possibility that the Chinese government was directly involved.
“This came as a big surprise, just like before the war,” said one Israeli intelligence source. A huge amount of Chinese weapons were discovered. “The question is whether it was delivered directly from China to Hamas,” he pointed out.
He continued, “This is the highest level of weapons and communications technology that Hamas has never had before. “It was discovered that they had a large amount of highly sophisticated explosives that had never been discovered before,” he explained.
The results of this survey are expected to be an important factor in changing the relationship between Israel and China, which cooled after Hamas’ surprise attack in October last year.
China has been speaking out in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to exert greater influence over the United States.
Dr. Patrick Bury, a military expert at the University of Bath in the UK, said, “The question is whether China knew that the weapons were being delivered to Hamas,” and added, “Or whether they came through a third party, such as Iran.”
At the same time, he said, “Iran is known to have trained and armed Hamas terrorists,” and added, “It is believed that (Iran) played at least a certain role in transferring Chinese-made equipment to Hamas.”
At the same time, “if the quantity is large, there is a high possibility that state actors are involved. “It is highly likely that the state actor is Iran,” he said. “This could be goods purchased by Iran from China and sent to Hamas. “There may be other potential masterminds, but the likelihood is small,” he said.
He further predicted, “China will not like Iran doing something like this with its own equipment,” and added, “If it is transported on a large scale, it will not look good, and it will also be a problem for trust (between the two countries).”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.