Whose side are we on
Hamas deploys U.S. guns against Israel
Palestinian sources said the new Hamas regime has deployed heavy machine guns donated by the United States to PA security agencies in the Gaza Strip in early 2007.
The sources said the captured guns were transferred to Hamas's new coast guard, assigned to protect against smuggling and Israeli attacks from the Mediterranean.
[On Thursday, Syrian radio reported that Israeli fighter-jets entered Syrian air space in an attempted strike. The radio said Syria's military fired surface-to-air missiles and the Israeli jets fled during the confrontation on early Thursday. The Israeli military refused to comment.]
This was the first time Hamas was said to have acquired U.S.-supplied heavy weapons. Throughout 2007, the Bush administration had assured Congress that security aid to the PA consisted of non-lethal equipment.
Hamas was also said to have captured Russian-made heavy machine guns from PA arsenals. The sources said they did not know whether the Russian weapons have been used against Israel.
The sources said Hamas forces have preferred to employ heavy machine guns against Israeli aircraft rather than SA-7 anti-aircraft systems. They said Hamas does not have enough surface-to-air missiles for sustained air defense.