Palestinian forces - why no RPGs

[antony]

Having seen recent media coverage of events in the occupied territories, I cannot figure out why the Palestinians do not have *the* must-have, cheap, widely available weapon which can make armies think seriously about entering city streets with armour - the RPG.

The Chechens in Grozny and Somalis in Mogadishu used them to give their adversaries a hard time. Why don't the Palestininians seem to have them??????

[MajorH TacOps Developer]

I suspect that it indicates that they are having severe problems smuggling in weapons and ammo.

[minmax]

Since the Palestinians are trying to play the injured party in this mess maybe they are holding back to gain global sympathy. In my humble Opinion I think the Israelis have shown incredible restraint and frankly the poop is sliding toward the fan.

[BloodyBucket]

IIRC, they are banned from owning RPG's by treaty. The Israelis have been showing the few that they have captured as proof that the Pallies can't be trusted to stick to agreements.

[Carter]

Originally posted by minmax:

In my humble Opinion I think the Israelis have shown incredible restraint and frankly the poop is sliding toward the fan.

I'll second that.

[nijis]

Having tooled around the West Bank for most of the last week, I don't think the Palestinian forces have much in the way of RPGs, nor is the terrain in the West Bank necessarily RPG-friendly.

According to an IDF infantry platoon leader who did house clearing in Jenin refugee camp, the alleys were too narrow for APCs. Infantry went in on foot, and only later did the bulldozers come in and clear lanes for the M113s.

A Palestinian fighter in Hebron, which was not invaded, said that in the event of an Israeli incursion he would place butane gas cannisters in the street as anti-tank mines. I don't know how well that would work.

It would also be difficult, I would think, to get an RPG into position to fire. Houses in much of the West Bank, outside the camps, are spaced relatively far apart, and there's little other cover. Helicopters are usually overhead, making it difficult to use the roof.

I don't think the Palestinians have the command and control skills necessary to respond to Israeli movements. On a regular IDF patrol route, or an obvious invasion route into a town or camp, large explosive charges are cheaper, more effective, and don't give your position away.

Maybe this one ought to go the general forum?

[ April 16, 2002, 05:01 AM: Message edited by: nijis ]