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| By israelinsider staff May 18, 2007 |
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| Olmert and Peretz inspect a damaged home (GPO photo) |
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At least three rockets landed in Sderot around midnight Thursday, one of them directly hitting a synagogue just minutes after the end of a celebration of hundreds of people bringing in a new Torah scroll. Several people suffered from shock and the building was damaged. If the rocket would have hit a half hour earlier, there would have been major casualties.
The attack took place shortly after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz visited the town. During their visit, the Color Red siren alert was activated and the entourage had to take cover.
Eyewitness Motti Shitrit told YnetNews that about 300 people had gathered there to bring a Torah scroll into the synagogue's ark. Israeli news media had highlighted the boisterous procession through the town's streets as a sign of the local residents going on with their lives normally. "We were saved by luck. If people had not gone home, many would have been killed here. God rescued us," he said.
During Olmert and Peretz's visit, a Qassam barrage landed in the area, some of more than two dozen that hit the region Thursday. The defense minister invited the prime minister for coffee at his house, as well as one of the houses hit earlier in the day. The two also met with Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal, who accompanied them during the visit. Knesset Member Otniel Schneller (Kadima) also took part in the visit.
Olmert was confronted by Avi Farhan, a resident of Sderot who had been evacuated from Sinai, later a Jewish settlement in Gaza, and subsequently moved to the city. When the surprised prime minister saw Farhan, who is something of a celebrity, he asked him what he was doing there. Farhan responded, "I live here .... I moved here after we were uprooted from (the Gaza settlement of) Elei Sinai."
Farhan told Olmert how the residents were losing the ability to cope with the Qassam attacks. "We are experiencing non-stop shooting and the IDF must act and respond. The residents here must be assisted not only in dealing with the shooting but also by rehabilitating them, both physically and emotionally." Olmert agreed to set a meeting with Farhan .
Resident Arieh Cohen, was less graciously received when he arrived at Peretz's home. Denied entrance by Olmert's extensive personal security force, he shouted: "The prime minister is a coward. You came like a thief in the night with all your bodyguards."
"What I'm doing is not provocation. I want to talk to you. Only yesterday night missiles flew over my head. I want to hear the prime minister giving me answers. We keep on hearing you and you don't let us voice our opinions.... Peretz is a bigger coward than you are, living in a fortified house while we don't even have shelters."
Prime Minister's Press Release Excerpts
Prime Minister Olmert said: "It was important for me to come here this evening so that you would not feel that you are alone. I am dealing with this crisis in order to remove the danger from you as much as possible."
The Prime Minister spoke with Mental Health Center employees and said that they must seek assistance if they feel that their workload is too great. "This is very important because those who provide assistance must take care of themselves."
Prime Minister Olmert met with Yonatan Abukasis, whose 16.5-year-old daughter Ela was killed by a Kassam missile approximately two years ago when she protected her younger brother with her own body. The Prime Minister asked him to accompany him on his tour of Sderot including his visit to a family whose home was hit earlier this week.
An alert was sounded as they entered the home. The Prime Minister inspected the site of the Kassam hit and was told that the wife is still hospitalized as a result. Defense Minister Amir Peretz accompanied the Prime Minister and said that as a resident of Sderot, he knew what local residents were going through. He added that while the desire to operate with full force was understandable, Israel had to operate wisely and prudently in the face of the threats.
Prime Minister Olmert said: "I assure you that all of us -- the entire Government -- feel part of this experience. We feel the distress and understand the insecurity and the pain. The Government will do everything that is right for you and for the security of the State of Israel." |
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