The Ashkelon Municipality, along with a large group of parents whose children study in city schools, petitioned the High Court Tuesday demanding that the Defense Ministry complete a project of setting up a series of above-ground bomb shelters in the schools. According to the petition, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i promised Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin that the money to finish the project would be transferred this year, but the city said in its petition that the funds have not been forthcoming. According to the petition, only a portion of the schools have received the shelters, "leaving children in many schools open to injury by an enemy missile."

Vaknin said that the municipality has raised the issue with the Defense Ministry several times, but "as we have not received any answer to our queries, we have no choice but to ask the court to provide an impetus to move the process along."