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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel charges Gaza engineer as rocket mastermind
2011-04-05
BEERSHEBA, Israel - Israel on Monday charged a detained Palestinian engineer with hundreds of counts of attempted murder, accusing him of developing missiles that the Islamist group Hamas fired from Gaza against Israelis.

Dirar Abu Sisi, a director of the Gaza Strip's sole power station, says he was kidnapped during a visit to Ukraine in February and transferred secretly to Israel.
Those Juices truly are all-powerful. Best to not catch their attention.
A court in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba handed down a 15-page indictment, revealing the allegations at the heart of the mysterious case.

"Abu Sisi was engaged in the development of missiles to be launched by Hamas, including increasing their range and ability to pierce steel so as to penetrate armoured vehicles and thus strike at soldiers," a summary of the indictment said.

"Abu Sisi is accused of nine charges regarding activity in a terrorist organization, hundreds of counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and production of weaponry offenses," it added.

Abu Sisi denies wrongdoing and Hamas has said he was not a member of their organisation.
"No, no, certainly not!"
Sisi is married to a Ukrainian and his relatives say he went to Ukraine to arrange residency there for himself and his family. Ukraine says Abu Sisi's disappearance is under investigation. Israel has not provided details on how the Palestinian came into its custody, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week it was a "legal arrest".

Monday's indictment names a Ukrainian professor at the Kharkov Military Engineering Academy as Abu Sisi's mentor. It said "Konstantin Petrovich" was an expert in Scud missile control systems.
So Sisi was taught about Scuds, yet all the Gazooks launched were Qassams. Something doesn't add up here...
What's the difference between Scud missile controls and Qassem missile controls, once installed? "Search and reapply" is all the rage in industry these days, significantly shortening research cycles.
"Abu Sisi acquired extensive knowledge in missile development, control systems, propulsion and stabilisation. Parallel to his work as an engineer for the Gaza electric company, Abu Sisi secretly joined Hamas," the summary added.
He had to do something when he wasn't busy not delivering electricity in Gaza...
Posted by:Steve White

#4  he was a big Family Affairs fan
Posted by: Frank G   2011-04-05 19:41  

#3  Abu Sisi

Uncle Sissy? Not the greatest nom de guerre for a mastermind. Even a Paleostinean one.
Posted by: SteveS   2011-04-05 13:39  

#2  The Jerusalem Post has a background piece on Mr. Abu Sisi. He's been quite effective at improving Hamas's anti-Israel weapons. As a result of his work, half of Israel is now within range of Hamas rockets.

Israel has Rafael, Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. Hamas has Dirar Abu Sisi, the so-called “Rocket Godfather” of the Gaza Strip.

In 2005, HamasÂ’s Kassam rockets had a range of about 6 kilometers. Later that year, the range jumped to 15 km., and then in 2007 to 22 km.

In 2002, Hamas’s domestically manufactured anti-tank missile known as “Yassin” was capable of penetrating 6 cm of armor. By 2008, it could penetrate 26 cm.

What made Abu Sisi unique was that he had studied in Ukraine in the late 1990s in the Kharkov military academy, under a professor who had been one of the key developers in the Soviet Scud missile program.

There, Abu Sisi was allowed to sit in on classes and learn about missile design, boosters, stabilizers and different power sources.

[Monday's indictment] provides unprecedented insight into the Hamas military wing and how it has turned into a military one would expect to see in a country – not just with brigades, battalions and special forces, but also with an in-house defense industry.
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-04-05 13:35  

#1  Just see if the missiles stop.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2011-04-05 09:45  

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