Hamas 'tank' is for training, not combat
Mohammed Najib, Ramallah - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
07 February 2016
http://www.janes.com/article/57815/hamas-tank-is-for-training-not-combat

The 'tank' that was unveiled by the armed wing of the Palestinian group
Hamas on 31 January was widely ridiculed when it became apparent that it was
moving on wheels, not its tracks.

Clearly an attempt to mock-up an Israeli Merkava main battle tank, the
vehicle was displayed for the first time in the Gaza Strip during a memorial
for seven fighters from the Izz-al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed
wing, who died when a tunnel collapsed. Abu Obeideh, spokesman for the
brigades, arrived on the tank to eulogise the dead men.

However, the vehicle is a training aid and not intended to be used in combat
against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to Major Islam Shahwan, a
senior Hamas security leader in Gaza.

"Izz al-Din al-Qassam has made three fixed Merkava tanks and one mobile one
for training its fighters in combat," Maj Shahwan told IHS Jane's on 2
February. "Some of our fighters said they feared the huge scary sound of the
Merkavas during the last war [in July-August 2014], which prevented them
from carrying out their attacks against the Merkavas as scheduled, so we
decided to train them and break the barrier of fear."

The assertion that the 'tank' seen in the parade was built as part of a
training programme rather than as a propaganda device was supported by
photographs that a Hamas source passed to IHS Jane's showing a mock-up of a
Merkava next to another of a Namer armoured personnel carrier (APC). The
mock-ups include replica hatches so trainers can show how Israeli personnel
exit their vehicles.

Maj Shahwan said the simulation tanks cost around USD15,000 to make and that
their guns do not function. "Eighty percent of the tanks are homemade, while
the rest are pieces from IDF vehicles damaged during the war," he said.