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Grad rocket in Ashkelon (archives)
Photo: Tsafrir Abayov

Fortification of Ashkelon schools postponed

Decision on structural reinforcement of schools in southern city put on hold yet again after Defense Minister Barak orders Home Front Command to explore matter further

The fortification of schools in the southern city of Ashkelon has been postponed and is unlikely to be finished during the current government's tenure, the defense establishment concluded recently.

 

A subsequent government decision on whether to reinforce school buildings in communities within a 7-kilometer (4.35-mile) radius of the Gaza Strip as well is also expected to be postponed.

 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with security officials on the matter Thursday, and despite the expectations expressed by the mayor and parents' association of Ashkelon, no concrete decision was made. Last Saturday saw two Grads fired at the city, one of which landed in a high school yard, luckily causing no injuries.

 

Barak, despite the urgency of the matter – especially since the rocket fire emanating form Gaza has gradually increased in the weeks following the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead – ordered the Home Front Command to compile several more reports before he brings the matter before the cabinet.

 

The issue of the extending the fortification of Israel's southern communities has also been the focal of a fierce debate between the political and military echelons.

 

Those in favor of the move say that the new security reality, which indicates that Hamas has longer-rage missiles, makes the fortification of educational facilities – at the least – in communities located within a 4.35-mile radius from the Strip a must, as choosing not to do so places the residents of Netivot, Ofakim, Ashdod and Ashkelon in grave danger.

 

'A line must be drawn'

Those opposing the move ask whether the government is willing to put up the millions – possibly billions – of shekels needed for the project. The fortification of schools, they say, is only the first step and once it is completed, the government would have to begin fortifying residential homes in an area of up to 40 kilometers) 25 miles from the Strip.

 

Fortification, they add, is also needed in the northern communities that are subjected to the Hizbullah threat. At this point, the Prime Minister's Office and the Treasury would like to know where to draw the line.

 

Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who heads the matter of the home front on behalf of the government, believes the cabinet has to make a decision in principle on the matter, yet the matter was abruptly taken off the next cabinet meeting's agenda, citing the Home Front Command has yet to compile the necessary brief.

 

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's  government, it seems, has decided not to decide and bureaucracy is endangering thousands of school children in the rocket-ridden area.

 

Though no official political source would admit as much, Olmer'st government, whose term will officially end within weeks, would rather see Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet make the final decision on the fortification of the south's schools.

 

"The decision about schools in Ashkelon will be the precedent to future demands by other communities in the area," a security source told Ynet. "This would entail a massive (financial) investment, so it has to wait for the next government."

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.06.09, 08:16
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