Mayor Eli Moyal aimed his complaints against the government and not the army. "The government cannot hide under the slogan that it is not able to defend its people," because such a government "is not moral," Moyal asserted. He added that policymakers have no right "to talk about obeying the law, not even about obeying traffic signs."
S'derot, a small working-class city in the western Negev, several miles east of Ashkelon and slightly northeast of Gaza, has been under constant rocket attack for the past few weeks, as Arab terrorists have escalated their offensive.
Since government officials made it clear they were keeping a low profile ahead of the January 9th Palestinian Authority (PA) elections, terrorists have stepped up attacks. They began multiplying the number of mortar shells they have been firing for four years on Jewish communities throughout Gaza. After the government kept its promise to keep a low profile, terrorists started targeting the western Negev and S'derot, turning the quiet town into southern Israel's version of Kiryat Shemoneh, the northern Galilee town which suffered Katyusha rocket barrages from Lebanon for years.
Kassam rocket explosions have turned life for Sderot's residents upside down, causing panic and fear as well as damage, injuries and at least one death. Several residents have fled the city, and Mayor Moyal fears that "if they leave Sderot, the country is finished, because the Arabs will do the same thing to Ashkelon, Ashdod and Sycamore Farm." The farm is the ranch home of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and is near S'derot and Gaza.
Moyal said the Israeli government is not listening to Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), acting PA chairman and leading presidential candidate. Abu Mazen has backed down from previous statements against violence, instead praising armed attacks during his election campaign.
"In the past, I have said we should flatten Bet Hanoun and no one listened to me," said the mayor, referring to the huge terrorist stronghold in Gaza. "I do not want to say that there is a distinction between blood and blood [favoring some Israelis over others], but the government is mistaken in its handling of security in Gush Katif and S'derot," asserted Moyal in the interview with Arutz-7.
"Look at how the Americans handle the Iraqis, who are not even bombarding their homes. As far away as they are from their homes, they are chasing them to Afghanistan, because there is no negotiating with terror. You have to fight terror," said Mayor Moyal.
S'derot, a small working-class city in the western Negev, several miles east of Ashkelon and slightly northeast of Gaza, has been under constant rocket attack for the past few weeks, as Arab terrorists have escalated their offensive.
Since government officials made it clear they were keeping a low profile ahead of the January 9th Palestinian Authority (PA) elections, terrorists have stepped up attacks. They began multiplying the number of mortar shells they have been firing for four years on Jewish communities throughout Gaza. After the government kept its promise to keep a low profile, terrorists started targeting the western Negev and S'derot, turning the quiet town into southern Israel's version of Kiryat Shemoneh, the northern Galilee town which suffered Katyusha rocket barrages from Lebanon for years.
Kassam rocket explosions have turned life for Sderot's residents upside down, causing panic and fear as well as damage, injuries and at least one death. Several residents have fled the city, and Mayor Moyal fears that "if they leave Sderot, the country is finished, because the Arabs will do the same thing to Ashkelon, Ashdod and Sycamore Farm." The farm is the ranch home of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and is near S'derot and Gaza.
Moyal said the Israeli government is not listening to Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), acting PA chairman and leading presidential candidate. Abu Mazen has backed down from previous statements against violence, instead praising armed attacks during his election campaign.
"In the past, I have said we should flatten Bet Hanoun and no one listened to me," said the mayor, referring to the huge terrorist stronghold in Gaza. "I do not want to say that there is a distinction between blood and blood [favoring some Israelis over others], but the government is mistaken in its handling of security in Gush Katif and S'derot," asserted Moyal in the interview with Arutz-7.
"Look at how the Americans handle the Iraqis, who are not even bombarding their homes. As far away as they are from their homes, they are chasing them to Afghanistan, because there is no negotiating with terror. You have to fight terror," said Mayor Moyal.