Why Hamas stores its weapons inside hospitals, mosques and schools
Israeli Missions Around The World San-Francisco News Why Hamas stores its weapons inside hospitals, mosques and schools

Hamas stores weapons in schools and hospitals

  • 7/31/2014
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    Inside a Gaza Strip mosque in January 2009, nothing at first seemed unusual with the wooden pulpit pushed against the cement wall. Barely taller than a man, it stood beside a microphone stand near an electric fan and some plastic chairs, according to photographs captured by the Israel Defense Forces.​
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    By: Terrence McCoy,Washington Post

    ​But hidden inside the pulpit, Israel alleged, were a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a bulletproof vest and binoculars. Soldiers soon spread the mosque’s cache on the floor, a haul that included a rifle, grenades and ammunition. Hamas operatives, Israel charged, were to blame. 

    "The many mosques in the Gaza Strip serve not only religious functions, but are also put to military use by Hamas and other terrorist organizations," the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center said at the time. "They are used to hide terrorist operatives, store weapons, as sites from which rockets and mortar shells are launched."