Fear returns to Sderot

Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal told Ynet Monday his constituents are losing patience with repeated Qassam attacks on their city from the nearby Gaza Strip, and that fear is once again part of daily life in town. "Once again we are being asked to administer psychological help to Sderot residents, including children, and once again there is an atmosphere of fear," he said. Moyal's remarks were in response to Monday's Qassam rocket attack in which two rockets fell in open territory near Sderot. One rocket nearly hit the Osem factory in town, where hundreds of workers were working at the time. Ceasefire crumbling City officials see the attack as a sign the ceasefire is crumbling, and say residents' anger is once again rising. Moyal said he expected to hear about a strong Israeli reaction to the attack, but said his direct line to the prime minister's office, as well as phone lines other government ministers, has been silent. "If they tell us they are 'protesting' to (Palestinian Authority Chairman) Mahmoud Abbas, great. It will really relax me to know we have 'protested' yet another attack. So what? A protest will calm people down?" Terror groups rearming Moyal also said he has received a flood of phone calls from frightened residents, but he has no answers to give them. "Terror organizations (such as) Hamas, Islamic Jihad and are rearming and building an arsenal presumably not meant to be displayed in a museum," he said. In coming days Mayor Moyal is scheduled to convene the city council to rehash an issue they have discussed many times. "We will discuss what to do and how to begin to act," he said. Moshe Shahor, one of the organizers of the demonstration in Sderot at the time of the massive Qassam barrage on the city, said, "we've always said that Qassam's would keep coming, and here they are, they've kept coming. They haven't even reported all the rockets that fallen here. Our patience is finished, (and) I canI see the fear in resident's eyes. Sderot has been the target of dozens of rocket and mortar attacks in recent months, as a consequence of its close proximity to the Gaza Strip.

Fear returns to Sderot

Double Qassam attack Sunday revives fear to resident's lives; mayor unimpressed with government 'protest'