Tuesday, 30 December 2008Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday declared a "special situation" for communities located within 30 kilometers from the Gaza Strip.
The move, the first of its kind, would give the security establishment authority to hold employees, close factories, cancel conferences and events, and to conduct other civilian activities. It would allow the security establishment to play an active role in city affairs alongside local authorities.
The cabinet is required to approve the special status over the next two days, as it has already done for Gaza belt communities.
Schools were to remain closed within the 30-kilometer range on Tuesday, including in Ashdod, Kiryat Gat, Ofakim, Sderot and Kiryat Malachi.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i told Israel Radio on Tuesday that Gaza-belt communities were well prepared for further rocket attacks, and called on residents of the South to heed instructions from authorities.
Meanwhile, as IDF Operation Cast Lead continued in the Gaza Strip, three Kassam rockets and at least 10 mortar shells pounded in the Eshkol region overnight Monday. No casualties were reported in the attack, though one house sustained damage.
On Monday, three Israelis were killed in Ashkelon, Ashdod and Nahal Oz as over 80 rockets and mortar shells hit southern Israel.
The Ashdod fatality was identified as Irit Sheetrit, 36. She was killed Monday night when a Grad-type rocket struck a bus stop where she had run for cover. Four other were hurt in the attack, one was in serous condition.
Warrant Officer Lotfi Nasraladin, 38, from the Druse village of Daliat el-Carmel, was killed when rockets struck near Nahal Oz. Five others were wounded in the attack, two seriously.
Following continued IAF attacks on Hamas targets in the Strip, Palestinian terrorists intensified their efforts, firing on Ofakim and Yavne. One person was moderately wounded in the attack on Ofakim.
Earlier Monday, an Israeli construction worker identified as Hani al-Mahdi, 27, of the Beduin town of Aro'er in the Negev, was killed and over a dozen others were wounded when a Grad-model Katyusha hit a construction site in Ashkelon.
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Tuesday, 30 December 2008
JPost
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