Under fire – Lieberman
Photo: Ilan Mizrahi
Rocket narrowly misses Knesset members
Qassam lands near Yisrael Beiteinu MKs touring south; Chairman Lieberman unhurt
Close call: A rocket fired from Gaza Friday landed in a field in the south of the country not far from where hundreds of Israelis were hiking, including Knesset members touring the rocket-battered region.
Around 3:30 pm, two rockets fired from northern Gaza landed in open areas. However, soon after it turned out that Knesset members belonging to the Yisrael Beiteinu party, including Chairman Avigdor Lieberman, were hiking near the landing site.
Overall, more than 15 rockets were fired from Gaza Friday morning and afternoon. The Knesset members who toured the area were scheduled to visit a region Kibbutz during the Shabbat.
'Gaza escalation expected'
Earlier in the day, Chairman Lieberman addressed the latest Gaza escalation and said he was not surprised to see the recent violence."This was expected. I don't understand why everyone is surprised," the former minister said.
"The dynamics here are clear. Today it's Sderot and Ashkelon, and tomorrow it will be Netivot and Ashdod," Lieberman said, referring to southern communities that are currently out of rocket range.
In a conversation with Ynet, Lieberman said that Friday's tour was planned two months ago and simply happened to coincidence with the growing tensions around Gaza.
"We came to support the residents of Sderot in general, and the deputy mayor in particular because he's a member of our party," Lieberman said. "We gathered here for a weekend of thinking and the formulation of activity for the coming spring and summer months."
