Sderot not surprised by comptroller's report

Residents say report that Qassams are not being addressed adequately 'proves that government abandoned us, nothing is being done'

Shmulik Hadad
Published: 05.09.07, 23:39 / Israel News

It's safe to assume that Sderot residents weren't surprised by the state comptroller's report Wednesday, regarding the failures of the government in dealing with Qassam attacks on Israel.

The increased rocket attacks on the city and the western Negev this past week have merely reinforced a prevalent opinion among regional residents that the IDF is not responding adequately to the attacks, as it did in the past.

"The worst part is that the IDF is asking to fix the problem and address the Qassam rockets with a ground operation in Gaza, but the government rejects the military recommendation and perpetuates its horrible mistake of abandoning residents under rocket threat."

The Sderot municipality released a statement in response to the report, stating "the lack of IDF preparation regarding Qassams is nothing compared to the complete lack of action by the government of (Prime Minister) Ehud Olmert and (Defense Minister) Amir Peretz, who were joined this past week by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

"Our amazement only grew after the direct hit this week in which two houses in the city were damaged and the government's insistence on a policy of restraint and inaction. In our eyes (former Defense Minister) Shaul Mofaz is still the man of honor in our town for his tough responses to the rocket launchings until his replacement last spring."

Similar sentiments ring out from every neighborhood in the city, where it's always easy to find a family who has suffered from an attack.

'Palestinians laughing in our face'
Resident Zimru Yakobob, whose brother was killed in a Qassam attack, wrote a letter to the prime minister in response to the report, expressing his outrage at the lack of response from the government and the army.

"At last someone said what we already know, think and feel," Yakobob said of the state comptroller. "It doesn't matter if I'm the one who lost a brother or if I'm just any resident in the town, dealing with the daily rocket barrages.

"I remember former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who told us that if there would be rockets after the (2005) disengagement, we would hurt (the attackers) intensely.

"The Palestinians don't need to read the report. They're right in front of us, across the fence, laughing in our face. They see that we don't respond, don't do anything. Once, there was at least artillery…not silence, like there is now

Under the current leadership maybe never, it is time for this government to go.