Southern protest reaches High Court: About 40 Sderot residents announced Sunday evening that they refuse to leave the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem. The residents were protesting the postponement of the discussion on a petition submitted by Sderot business owners.
After several hours, the protestors left the court while avoiding clashes with security guards. However, two Sderot women fainted during the protest and were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics who rushed to the scene.
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(Video) Qassam fired from Gaza lands near kindergarten in western Negev town. 'Sderot is our home; we will not leave Jerusalem until our home is returned to us,' demonstrator says during rally held opposite PM's office |
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One business owner, Sasson Sara, told Ynet: "It's impossible that the government treats us with contempt and that the judicial system also hurts us. We will sit here and wait for the finance minister to arrive and explain his policy to us."
During the court session, many of those present interrupted the words of High Court justices with shouts.
Following the discussion on the status of Sderot business owners and compensation rights, and after judges gave the State 10 days to respond to the petition, several business owners refused to leave the building even though the session ended and the judges left the building. Some of those present started yelling in protest and slammed the State for failing to take care of them.
A spokesperson for the court said that the situation is under control and that residents who initially insisted on staying in the building are gradually leaving. However, in an unusual move, court guards refused to allow journalists to enter the court and cover the incident.
In a petition submitted in May of last year, business owners argued that Sderot should be included in the list of borderline communities for compensation purposes. Following the petition, the Knesset approved in June 2007 emergency regulations for Sderot and Gaza-region communities.
Aviad Glickman, Shmulik Hadad, and Aviram Zino contributed to the report
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