State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has published the first in a series of reports criticizing the way the government carried out the disengagement from Gaza last August.
The first report details the government’s failure to adequately defend Jewish communities near the Gaza border in the wake of the disengagement.
Since the removal of IDF forces and Jewish communities from Gaza, communities bordering Gaza, including the cities of Sderot and the outskirts of Ashkelon, have become subject to an almost daily barrage of Kassam missiles fired from inside the Gaza district. Most of the missiles have not caused casualties or significant damage.
The State Comptroller, charged by Israeli law with critiquing the execution of government policy and programs, accused the government of dragging its feet in regard to defending the Negev against Kassam rockets.
Although the city of Sderot and other Negev towns were first attacked by Kassams in 2001, by the time of the disengagement in August 2005, the communities were still not adequately defended.
Re-enforced building construction, which could prevent damage and loss of life in the event of a Kassam attack, has yet to be provided to public schools and nursery schools. Fences, perimeter lighting, and security roads have yet to be built.
The Comptroller was particularly harsh in regard to Sderot. “The fact that nursery schools and public schools have yet to be adequately protected against Kassam rockets evidences the ongoing failure by the relevant agencies,” he said.
Lindenstrauss charged that the failure was due in part to inadequate funding and bureaucratic wrangling. In particular, he cited lack of cooperation between the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry.
According to the report, the government has also not provided adequate protection to private residences. The government, for example, decided to provide homes with safe rooms that offer protection against shrapnel, but not against a direct hit by a Kassam. The Comptroller contends that the government was not even aware of this deficiency.
For the addition of a relatively small sum of money, Lindenstrauss claims the government could have provided home owners with safe rooms that could have protected residents against a direct hit.
While a number of facilities containing dangerous materials have been provided with adequate defense against Kassams, the overall picture was “severe and intolerable,” according to the report.
The report concluded: “Despite the fact that 17 months have passed since the government’s decision regarding the disengagement, and even though the IDF has completed the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, work on defending the communities most threatened has not been completed. Moreover, the execution of a number [of projects] has not even begun.”
The first report details the government’s failure to adequately defend Jewish communities near the Gaza border in the wake of the disengagement.
Since the removal of IDF forces and Jewish communities from Gaza, communities bordering Gaza, including the cities of Sderot and the outskirts of Ashkelon, have become subject to an almost daily barrage of Kassam missiles fired from inside the Gaza district. Most of the missiles have not caused casualties or significant damage.
The State Comptroller, charged by Israeli law with critiquing the execution of government policy and programs, accused the government of dragging its feet in regard to defending the Negev against Kassam rockets.
Although the city of Sderot and other Negev towns were first attacked by Kassams in 2001, by the time of the disengagement in August 2005, the communities were still not adequately defended.
Re-enforced building construction, which could prevent damage and loss of life in the event of a Kassam attack, has yet to be provided to public schools and nursery schools. Fences, perimeter lighting, and security roads have yet to be built.
The Comptroller was particularly harsh in regard to Sderot. “The fact that nursery schools and public schools have yet to be adequately protected against Kassam rockets evidences the ongoing failure by the relevant agencies,” he said.
Lindenstrauss charged that the failure was due in part to inadequate funding and bureaucratic wrangling. In particular, he cited lack of cooperation between the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry.
According to the report, the government has also not provided adequate protection to private residences. The government, for example, decided to provide homes with safe rooms that offer protection against shrapnel, but not against a direct hit by a Kassam. The Comptroller contends that the government was not even aware of this deficiency.
For the addition of a relatively small sum of money, Lindenstrauss claims the government could have provided home owners with safe rooms that could have protected residents against a direct hit.
While a number of facilities containing dangerous materials have been provided with adequate defense against Kassams, the overall picture was “severe and intolerable,” according to the report.
The report concluded: “Despite the fact that 17 months have passed since the government’s decision regarding the disengagement, and even though the IDF has completed the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, work on defending the communities most threatened has not been completed. Moreover, the execution of a number [of projects] has not even begun.”