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Employees of Sderot’s city beautification department blocked the entrances and exits to the city on Tuesday morning using vehicles.
The move was made in protest of Kassam rockets that have recently struck the southern town.
Police, including mounted forces, were positioned around the city in order to maintain order.
Sderot Municipality Shuts Down City ‘Indefinitely ‘
Excerpts;
The Sderot municipality shut the city down on Tuesday in protest at the continuing barrage of Kassam rockets from Gaza that have struck the area. All inner-city junctions would be shut down and every day, for an indefinite period of time, the city would be blacked-out from 9 p.m. onwards.
Meanwhile, a Kassam rocket landed in the western Negev early Tuesday morning in an open area. No damage was caused.
Mayor Eli Moyal said Tuesday morning that the blockade was unlimited in time.
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Vice Premier Shimon Peres stressed on Tuesday morning that Israel should exert its maximum effort to prevent Kassam rocket attacks, a day after implying that the attacks on Sderot were not so serious in the context of Israel’s difficult history.
While emphasizing that Israel needed to prevent the rocket strikes, he said that the nation should refrain from hysteria.
Kiryat Shmona had been shelled for many years and Israel survived, Peres added on Monday, to provide context for his argument.
He had said on Monday that Israel should tell the Palestinians, “Kassams shmassams – we will survive and aren’t going anywhere.”
After clarifying that he thought Israel should use all its resources to stop the Kassams, Peres added on Tuesday that all military endeavors must remain within the bounds of Israel’s codes and values.
Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal, responded to Peres’ Monday comments by calling the vice premier a “persona non grata,” an unwelcome person in the southern town.
Commentary;
Regarding the recent statements and actions emanating from the City of Sderot and their Mayor Eli Moyal, they are handcuffed and tongue-tied by the Sharon/Olmert regime. Suffice to quote from this post; “IDF: Defender of the Jewish People, or Defender of the Regime?” which features an article written by Moshe Feiglin, The IDF: An Uncomfortable Analysis to make the point;
The IDF is the Israel Defense Forces. The strategic mission of the army is to defend the state of Israel. But a simple inspection of our reality since Oslo reveals a totally different picture. The IDF’s top commanders do not concern themselves with defending Israel, but rather with defending the ruling oligarchy. They do not see their main goal as providing security for Israel, but rather as carrying out the orders of the oligarchy.“
MB