Rocket Found Near Tel Aviv Airport Contained Rare Powerful Explosives

Photo Credit: Keren Perelman/TPS-IL

Scene of a rocket landing near the Palestinian Authority village Biddya in Samaria during Hezbollah rocket barrage on Sept. 23, 2024

PA Arab terrorists in western Samaria for the first time tried to fire a rocket with powerful explosives at Israel’s heavily populated central region.

The terrorist rocket, whose warhead contained high explosives with the potential to cause mass casualties, was discovered in bushes in the village of Budrus near Ramallah, about six miles from Ben-Gurion International Airport, the Israel Hayom daily reported on Wednesday.

Budrus also overlooks the Route 6 main north-south highway as well as Modi’in, a city of 106,000 located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Israel Hayom noted that it marked the first time that a “high quality” (e.g., non-improvised) rocket warhead was found in Judea and Samaria. It was also the first time a rocket was located outside northern Samaria.

Following the seizure of the rocket, the Israel Defense Forces’ Ephraim Territorial Brigade launched an extensive counterterror raid in Budrus, but no additional high explosives were found.

According to an earlier unconfirmed report by Israel’s Army Radio, the rocket was first discovered by Palestinian Authority police. That report said that the device, which was reportedly found mounted on a launch pad, was expected to be transferred to the Israeli military for inspection.

In June, P.A. security officials told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster that Iranian-backed terrorist groups might be able to fire advanced rockets toward central Israel from Samaria within a year.

Intelligence gathered by Ramallah indicates ongoing Iranian attempts to smuggle explosives, funds and know-how from Lebanon through Jordan and into Samaria, the report said.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist cells in the Jenin area have tried to fire at least a dozen rockets across the Samaria security fence. No casualties or damage were recorded in any of these attacks.

Tehran continues to instigate terrorism in Judea and Samaria by flooding the area with weapons, The New York Times reported in April, citing American, Israeli and Iranian officials.

The majority of the weapons smuggled into Judea and Samaria are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the U.S. and Israeli officials said that the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

In the first six months of 2024, Judea and Samaria saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).

During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges and 109 shootings.

Terrorists murdered 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in Judea and Samaria between January and July, the rescue group said.