Defense Minister Barak
Photo: Alon Ron
Qassam damage in Sderot
Photo: Liz Abutbul
Sderot mayor retracts resignation
Sderot Mayor, Eli Moyal, recants decision to resign following Thursday meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. ‘The defense minister ordered me to go back to work and it seemed rude not to comply,’ said Moyal
Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal recanted his decision to resign
as mayor of the battered town following a Thursday meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Moyal’s shocking decision to resign as mayor came in wake of repeated rocket attacks on the town of Sdeort, and the governments’ seeming inability to contend with these assaults or demolish the rocket launchers involved.
After retracting his resignation Moyal told Ynet: “I met with the defense minister for roughly 40 minutes. He instructed me to return to work, and it seemed rude not to comply.”
Moyal further said of his meeting with Barak: “We discussed several topics which I cannot elaborate upon, but, in broad terms, the defense minister assured me that he will address the ongoing Qassam problem. It will take some time, and it will not happen tomorrow, but I was impressed with the minister’s candor and with the information that he imparted.
“In light of the defense minister’s words, I was obliged to comply when he asked me to resume my post as mayor,” Moyal stated.
On his part, Defense Minister Barak said that: “Responsibility and duty trump all else, and we cannot afford to change mayors at this stage.”
Barak praised the resilience of the residents of Sdeort and the Gaza vicinity stating, “We are working as hard as humanly possible to resolve the Qassam menace.
"We find ourselves in a trying period of time, and resignation may very well be construed by our enemies as weakness,” said Barak. “We cannot and should not give them that satisfaction.”
