Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 09/2008

PolicyWatch #1278: Hamas's Military Capabilities after the Gaza Takeover

Nick Francona

August 2007

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Abstract

Hamas's June 2007 victory over Fatah was more than a political achievement -- it was a military bonanza. From its capture of Fatah's security headquarters, Hamas acquired stockpiles of American-made small arms and ammunition as well as a wide range of military equipment and vehicles originally transferred to bolster Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. In addition, increased smuggling activity since June has reportedly provided Hamas with Russian-made weapons, including antitank and antiaircraft missiles. Israel's Shin Bet estimates that forty tons of explosives entered Gaza in the two months following Hamas's takeover, along with 150 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers in August alone. In all, according to Israeli public security minister Avi Dichter, it would have taken Hamas approximately one year to obtain the amount of weaponry seized during the Gaza takeover through smuggling or other means.

Hamas's upgraded military capabilities affect the durability of its control over Gaza, as well as Fatah's prospects for challenging that control, Israel's policy toward the territory, and future U.S. security assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA). A survey of its arsenal supports the Israeli assessment that Hamas has undergone a "generational change" over the past two years.