The State Prosecutors' Office issued an updated response in the High Court to the petition filed by the Ashkelon parents' committee regarding the fortification of education institutions in the city against rocket attacks. In its response, the State claimed that there is no difference between Ashkelon and other cities under the threat of rocket fire and that funding the fortification in each location would be prohibitively expensive.
"Similar to the city, many cities are under the threat of rocket fire. There is no pretext justifying the distinction between Ashkelon and other cities and towns that have been damaged in the general escalation events in recent years, including Haifa, the Krayot, Kiryat Gat, Beersheba, and Yavne," the court's response read.
It was also claimed in the State's response that obligating the State to fund fortification will directly lead to an obligation to fortify education institutions in Eshkol Regional Council and Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, with an initial investment of at least NIS 90 million (about $23.5 million).
According to the State Prosecution, in setting its policy, the State took into consideration budgetary calculations and set clear priorities on the matter.
The State reviewed the manner in which it made its decisions. "At the end of the day, the inter-ministerial committee for fortification affairs headed by the deputy defense minister decided that there is no place for making Ashkelon an exception from the general policy on fortifying education institutions established by the government."
Just a month ago after a long period of quiet, Palestinians fired a Grad rocket from the Gaza Strip into the city. The rocket detonated near a residential building. Luckily, no one was physically injured in the attack, but eight people went into shock and were brought to Barzilai Hospital for treatment.
Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin deemed in the incident "one of the most severe since Operation Cast Lead ,"and said, "There is no doubt that such a rocket attack within the city is a step up." Following the attack, the parents' committee in the city threatened not to start the school year should fortification of the school and nursery schools not continue.
"We will not be able to allow the school year to be started until the issue of fortifying educational institutions will be fully solved," said Deputy Chairwoman of the Ashkelon Municipal Parents' Committee Sofie Hotovely Pinhas said. "The fire is a reminder to all of us of the reality in which our children study, exposed to rocket attacks without fortification. If the situation does not change, we will not start the year."