A Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip Friday afternoon landed in an avocado orchard in the western Negev, missing by dozens of meters IDF artillery batteries positioned nearby.
A worker alerted the police after the rocket hit and damaged an avocado tree in the orchard. Security officials collected the empty shell of the rocket, noting it is larger than Qassam shells collected in the past.
Another Qassam rocket landed in open fields near the southern town of Sderot overnight Friday, bringing the number of rockets fired since Wednesday to four.
Palestinians reported that members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, were behind the firing.
The army fired rounds of artilleries on open fields in the Gaza Strip Friday afternoon in response to the attack.
Fatah activists frustrated
The army vowed to continue firing artilleries on the Gaza Strip to avert Qassam terror cells from operating in open fields often used as launching sites.
Security officials noted however that despite the attacks an atmosphere of calm pervades the Gaza Strip, where residents grew increasingly opposed to the activities of terror groups as most rockets fired at Israel land in Palestinian territory.
The latest attacks come after two weeks of calm in the Gaza Strip. IDF officials related the heat up to the primaries elections for
the ruling Fatah party. Fatah activists are frustrated with the Palestinian Authority’s failure to ensure a transparent vote accusing election officials of fraud.
Elections were generally marred by violence, as frustrated activists decided to take the law in their hands and settle the scores, setting polling stations on fire and preventing registered members from casting their votes.
The latest round of Qassam attacks is an attempt by discontent Fatah members to harm the PA’s relations with Israel, which usually increases pressure on chairman Mahmoud Abbas when rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip.
Fatah is holding primaries ahead of the general elections in the Palestinian territories slated for January.
Shmulik Hadad contributed to the report
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