Deputy Minister for the Development of the Galilee and Negev Ayoub Kara (Likud) called Wednesday upon the government to turn the ruins of the Gush Katif communities in Gaza into a buffer zone between Israel and Gaza. He spoke on a tour of Shaar HaNegev Council which borders on Gaza.
Kara -- a Druze -- is considered to be one of the Likud's most solidly hawkish members. Earlier this month he visited the Gush Katif Museum with former governor Mike Huckabee during the American politician's tour of Israel and the two agreed that sometimes it takes non-Jews like them to be "more Jewish than the Jews."
Arabs 'waiting for the right moment'
Also during Wednesday's tour, Shaar HaNegev Regional Council head Alon Shuster told Arutz Sheva's Hebrew service that the area's residents are aware of the possibility that the security situation might escalate.
“It is true that in the last six months there has been a decrease in the number of missiles which struck the area,” he said. “But on the other hand there is a meaningful spike in the attempts to lay explosive devices on the roads in order to harm our soldiers, which only proves that on the other side they continue to build up their ammunition and missile arsenal. They are only waiting for the right moment, and we are preparing for a possible escalation.”
Shuster said that “the Palestinians realized that for every mortar they fire they get the Israel Air Force coming down on their heads, so instead they plant explosive devices.” He noted that it does not seem that the IDF responds immediately to roadside bombs.
"We know that they continue to dig their tunnels,” he said, “and even if Hamas itself did not carry out terror operations recently, there are enough other radical organizations that are active.”
Shuster added that the temporary respite in fighting is encouraging, and that he hopes it will not end at once. “I am glad to say that the ability of the citizens to recover is very high and there is already evidence of economic growth here and absorption of new students at the Sapir College [in Sderot]. There are also families that want to come out here, but still, one cannot erase eight hard years that we had here and that hurt us very seriously,” he said.