Alon Davidi
Alon DavidiHadas Parush/Flash 90

Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi on Thursday reiterated his call on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the ministers in his Cabinet to respond to the recent rocket fire from Gaza toward southern Israel.

“As a resident of Sderot and as mayor of the city, I know that this is a slippery slope. A reality in which 16 rockets are fired in one week, and it does not matter whether they explode or are intercepted, is a warning,” Davidi told Arutz Sheva.

"We must do everything we can so that we do not return to a situation in which rockets occasionally ‘trickle,’” he continued. "We must not return to those time periods in which the rockets stop the prosperity and development of the region."

Davidi expressed a hope that the IDF will initiate a strong response to the rocket fire. "We must take preemptive action. The residents of Sderot do not care who fires the rockets - Salafists, Islamic Jihad or Hamas. We need the people [in Gaza] to know that they will pay dearly for the rocket fire, that we will eliminate them and force them to hide underground,” he said.

"We are in the midst of celebrating Hanukkah, a holiday of joy and light. This morning we celebrated with hundreds of residents and children. It is important that the human animals who lead the residents of Gaza know that they cannot disrupt our lives and win.”

"It's true that this is a bit difficult and creates a complex reality, but the residents of Sderot and the Gaza Belt will continue to flourish and develop the Negev. We just recently inaugurated another building of the Elbit company in Sderot. That’s one of our responses [to the rocket fire],” said Davidi.

On Wednesday, at least three rockets were fired at Israeli territory from Gaza. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted two of the rockets. A third exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council.

Several residents of Sderot were treated for shock following the rocket attack. Another man who suffered injuries when he fell while running to a shelter was treated as well.

The Israel Air Force later retaliated and attacked three targets in Gaza belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization and which served as training and storage sites for weapons.