Even as 100 residents of the Jewish communities in Gaza continue their four-day march to Jerusalem, Palestinian terrorists continue their attacks on southern Israel. Soldiers detected two terrorists just north of the Kisufim junction this morning; the terrorists were unhurt and escaped. Another terrorist was shot and hit last night further north, near the Karni junction. Arab terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at N'vei Dekalim last night and at Sderot in the Negev earlier in the evening; no one was hurt and no damage was caused.
The Gush Katif marchers were hosted by the city of Sderot last night, and a large-scale solidarity rally was held at the town's Yeshivat Hesder. Among the speakers were Gaza Coast Regional Council head Avner Shimoni, Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal, and Yeshiva Dean Rabbi David Fendel. Moyal handed the Gush Katif marchers a letter appointing them the agents of the city of Sderot in the struggle against the retreat. Sderot lies just two miles from the Arab city of Beit Hanoun in Gaza, and has been the target of many Palestinian-fired Kassam rockets.
The marchers spent the night in Sderot, and set out this morning for Jerusalem via Ashkelon, where a similar rally is planned for tonight. Residents of the Negev and southern Mediterranean coast are invited and expected to join up along the way.
Ayalah Azran, a resident of N'vei Dekalim and a member of the Gush Katif action committee, told Arutz-7 today, "We are not fighting for our own four walls, but for the Land of Israel." Speaking from the march itself, she said, "This is a fateful national question, and not just the problem of some infinitesimal group. Many groups should be mobilized to prevent the destruction. We were so heartened in Sderot last night to see the strength of the support for us; the polls are simply not true. All along the way people were honking to support us, and it was really a beautiful display of solidarity."
Contrary to popular perception, Gaza has long been a Jewish area, and is in fact included in the Biblical Land of Israel; a dispute among traditional Jewish commentators exists only regarding the area west of El Arish in northern Sinai. It is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (13,3) as land that should have been conquered by Joshua; was home to Jews during the times of the Hasmoneans and the redaction of the Mishna; and its Jewish population was strong enough to withstand an attempt by Constantine in the 4th century to build a Christian church there. More recently, Jews lived there from 1885 until World War I, and a renewed Jewish community remained there until the Muslim pogroms of 1929. Kfar Darom was established there in 1946, lasting only until the War of Independence two years later, and in 1973, Netzer Hazani - the first of 17 Jewish communities that now exist in Gaza - was established.
The Gush Katif marchers were hosted by the city of Sderot last night, and a large-scale solidarity rally was held at the town's Yeshivat Hesder. Among the speakers were Gaza Coast Regional Council head Avner Shimoni, Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal, and Yeshiva Dean Rabbi David Fendel. Moyal handed the Gush Katif marchers a letter appointing them the agents of the city of Sderot in the struggle against the retreat. Sderot lies just two miles from the Arab city of Beit Hanoun in Gaza, and has been the target of many Palestinian-fired Kassam rockets.
The marchers spent the night in Sderot, and set out this morning for Jerusalem via Ashkelon, where a similar rally is planned for tonight. Residents of the Negev and southern Mediterranean coast are invited and expected to join up along the way.
Ayalah Azran, a resident of N'vei Dekalim and a member of the Gush Katif action committee, told Arutz-7 today, "We are not fighting for our own four walls, but for the Land of Israel." Speaking from the march itself, she said, "This is a fateful national question, and not just the problem of some infinitesimal group. Many groups should be mobilized to prevent the destruction. We were so heartened in Sderot last night to see the strength of the support for us; the polls are simply not true. All along the way people were honking to support us, and it was really a beautiful display of solidarity."
Contrary to popular perception, Gaza has long been a Jewish area, and is in fact included in the Biblical Land of Israel; a dispute among traditional Jewish commentators exists only regarding the area west of El Arish in northern Sinai. It is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (13,3) as land that should have been conquered by Joshua; was home to Jews during the times of the Hasmoneans and the redaction of the Mishna; and its Jewish population was strong enough to withstand an attempt by Constantine in the 4th century to build a Christian church there. More recently, Jews lived there from 1885 until World War I, and a renewed Jewish community remained there until the Muslim pogroms of 1929. Kfar Darom was established there in 1946, lasting only until the War of Independence two years later, and in 1973, Netzer Hazani - the first of 17 Jewish communities that now exist in Gaza - was established.