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Following are excerpts from two TV reports, one on Rafah tunnels and the other on missile production in Gaza, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on February 2 and 4, 2009.
Al-Arabiya, February 2, 2009:
Wael 'Assam, reporter: The tunnels are located 200-500 meters from the wall separating the Egyptian Rafah from the Palestinian Rafah. However, some tunnels – like this one – are only 100 meters from the border. This is one of about 1,000 tunnels in Rafah, most of which were destroyed. But the moment the war came to an end, the tunnel owners began to repair them, because they are the only artery of life to the Gaza Strip under the Israeli siege.
Tunnel digger: This is a kind of electrical transformer which gives us more power for the engine, which we use to remove the dirt from the tunnel.
[...]
Wael 'Assam: We have heard a lot about the tunnels. Now it is time to see them from the inside.
Man: Hold the cable. Don't look down.
Wael 'Assam: Descending 20 meters underground may not be so difficult, but if there is a power outage, or a collapse in this tunnel, which was bombed several days ago, we might join the list of the dozens of workers who were buried alive, in many accidents in recent years. Nevertheless, 20,000 workers have continued the task.
This is one of the few tunnels between the Palestinian and the Egyptian Rafah in which one can walk upright.
[...]
The entrance to some tunnels, like this one, remains intact, but they were partly damaged when neighboring tunnels were targeted with shock bombs.
Man in tunnel: The wall between us and the neighboring tunnel has been destroyed by an Israeli attack.
[...]
Wael 'Assam: We have now crossed the border in Egypt.
Man: More or less.
Wael 'Assam: We are now on Egyptian soil?
Man: Right.
Wael 'Assam: Welcome to Egypt.
[...]
Man: We are using the compass to move forward.
Wael 'Assam: So with the help of the compass you can determine your direction.
Man: When we are almost there, we raise a pipe. About 10 meters before our destination, we raise a pipe. If this is the exit, we contact the people outside.
Wael 'Assam: But don't you ever make a mistake? For example, you might raise a pipe, and find it right next to a member of the Egyptian security.
Man: That happens.
Wael 'Assam: It does?
Second man: It has happened. Once the pipe came out next to an Egyptian tank.
Wael 'Assam: So what happened?
Second man: Nothing. The tank remained in the same place for a month.
Wael 'Assam: Oxygen reaches the tunnels through pipes. The generators up above pump air though these pipes.
It seems, however, that the workers are not worried about running out of oxygen.
Third man: Man, you are suffocating us with your "Cleopatra" cigarette smoke.
Smoker: Man, it is a different brand.
Third man: Okay, go ahead and smoke. As soon as we open the tunnel, we will bring in "Super" cigarettes from Egypt.
Wael 'Assam: Thank God, we have arrived safe and sound.
From the Palestinian Rafah, this is Wael 'Assam, Al-Arabiya TV.
Al-Arabiya, February 4, 2009:
Wael 'Assam: Sheik Abu Dujana is wanted by Israel. Why wouldn’t he be? After all, he is a veteran missile-maker in Gaza.
How many missiles have you made in recent years?
Sheik Abu Dujana: 300-500 missiles. The range of this missile is 16-20 km.
Wael 'Assam: Which areas of Israel have you targeted with these missiles?
Sheik Abu Dujana: Ashkelon, and the Nahal Oz area.
In the recent battles, we launched 100-200 missiles.
Wael 'Assam: Let’s see how Abu Dujana makes his missiles, which have deprived the Israelis of their sleep.
Sheik Abu Dujana: This is the warhead, which is composed of many explosives, like TNT. The TNT comes in the form of a rock, which is ground by one of the mujahideen. This is the urea. This is the RDX.
Wael 'Assam: What is the RDX used for?
Sheik Abu Dujana: It is a very powerful explosive. We use it for missile warheads and for explosive devices. Well, these materials... This is potassium nitrate, which we use as fuel for the rocket. This is a substance familiar to all – sugar.
Wael 'Assam: You use it in the fuel misture.
Sheik Abu Dujana: Exactly.
Wael 'Assam: Yes, it is sugar.
Sheik Abu Dujana: We compress it all into the warhead in order to increase the blast.
Wael 'Assam: You compress the TNT?
Sheik Abu Dujana: Of course, along with shrapnel.
Wael 'Assam: How do you obtain the shrapnel?
Sheik Abu Dujana: We use pins, nails, and pieces of metal, which increase the blast.
Wael 'Assam: But producing the fuel is the most difficult part.
Sheik Abu Dujana: For the rocket’s fuel, we mix several substances – glucose, sugar, and nitrate. We mix them together and melt them. Then we put them into the engine.
Wael 'Assam: What would happen if you stopped mixing?
Sheik Abu Dujana: If you don’t mix it, it overflows. Look what happened to our arms. Everything is burnt. Here, look at the burns.
Wael 'Assam: When the charge is screwed on, the missile is ready to be launched, and all that is left is to add the timer.
”Abu Abdallah”, Abu Dujana’s deputy: In the past, the mujanideen would set the missile and launch it, and then they would be targeted by the Zionist enemy. So we began to use timers. After the missile is placed on the ground, the timer is set, the mujahid retreats, and the missile is launched five or ten minutes later.
Wael 'Assam: So you set it for five minutes?
”Abu Abdallah”: Five or ten minutes.
Wael 'Assam: You can use a timer of a washing machine or of any appliance?
”Abu Abdallah”: Yes, we use simple means.
Wael 'Assam: The Palestinian resistance has been able to manufacture missiles using the simplest raw materials, such as sugar. We don’t know if Israel will be forced to prevent even sugar from entering the Gaza Strip.
From a hideout for missile production, this is Wael ‘Assam, Al-Arabiya TV.
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