“Rocket Godfather of Hamas” indicted in Israel on terror charges
Pakistani injured blast victims and dead bodies are seen at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Quetta on September 3, 2010. At least 22 people have been killed in a suicide bombing targeting a Shiite Muslim rally in the southwest Pakistan city of Quetta, police said. The bomb appeared to target a rally of 450 people being held for Al-Quds day, an international annual event held by the Shiite community opposing Israel’s control of Jerusalem and showing solidarity with Palestinian Muslims.
Israel has indicted a Palestinian engineer known as the "Rocket Godfather of Hamas" for his leading role in developing missiles for the group for use in attacks on the Jewish state.
Dirar Abu Sisi was reportedly abducted by Israel a month ago as he was traveling on a train in Ukraine and brought to Israel for interrogation.
An indictment was filed against him Monday at the Beersheba District Court accusing Sisu of belonging to a terrorist organization, attempted murder, and weapons violations for helping Hamas to develop longer-ranging Qassam rockets over the past nine years, according to Ynet.
He is also accused of developing missiles that can penetrate steel, to be fired into armed Israeli Defense Force vehicles.
According to the indictment, Sisi received a doctorate in engineering from the Kharkov Military Engineering Academy in Kharkov, Ukraine, in the 1990s, where he worked with a SCUD missile specialist, Prof. Konstantin Petrovich. He later studied with leading Ukrainian military engineers, the Jerusalem Post reports.
After returning to the Gaza Strip, he was allegedly recruited into Hamas and became a commander and member of a committee charged with developing deadly missiles and rockets that have been used by Hamas since 2002.
He was also said to be responsible for upgrading thousands of older rockets and increasing their range and penetration capabilities.
Under Sisi, rockets manufactured in the Gaza Strip were increased in range from 4 to 13 miles. Attempts to increase the range to 25 miles by test-firing them into the Mediterranean failed.
Sisi's latest official job was as director of the Gaza Strip's sole power station, Reuters reported, and he has reportedly denied any wrongdoing. Hamas also has said he was not a member of their organization.
Sisi is married to a Ukrainian and his relatives say he went to Ukraine to arrange residency when he disappeared in February, according to Reuters. Israel has not provided details on how he came to be in its custody, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it was a "legal arrest."
— Freya Petersen
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