News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Russian-Israeli businessman Arcadi Gaydamak has decided to pay for the fortification of some 600 homes in the Kassam-stricken community of Sderot.  The cost of the project will be approximately NIS 90 million ($23 million). The tycoon has already fortified 40 shelters in the town.

Sderot mayor Eli Moyal resigned Wednesday, saying he could no longer bear responsibility for the safety of Sderot's residents without the assistance of the State government, the same day that Israel's High Court condemned the government's failure to fortify Sderot against Kassams as 'deeply disturbing.'

Gaydamak recently purchased the nearly defunct Bikur Cholim Hospital in central Jerusalem, preventing it from being shut down.