Misgrad

An Israeli security service term for mosques (in Gaza) used to store weaponry.

Reporting on Operation Cast Lead (Israel’s January 2009 action in Gaza),Haaretz stated, “Even prior to the operation, the Shin Bet coined the termmisgrad (a portmanteau consisting of the Hebrew word for “mosque” and the Grad rocket).”

On January 2, Israel National News reported, “Among the more than 20 Gaza targets bombed by the I.D.F. [Israel Defense Forces] over the course of Thursday night … was a mosque doubling as a Katyusha and Kassam rocket storehouse. The Hulfaa mosque … was used to store a large number of Grad-type Katyusha missiles, Kassam rockets, and other weaponry and ammunition.”

Israel insists that it only targets legitimate military sites, and blames Hamasfor firing rockets from within civilian areas. However, a number of agencies have raised concerns about civilians caught up in the conflict. For example, the United Nations Human Rights Council criticized Israel in a non-binding resolution that ”strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli military operations… which have resulted in massive violations of human rights of the Palestinian people and systematic destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure.”