‘Government should be ashamed’
Gush Katif settlers travel to funeral of couple shot dead at Kissufim road; blame government for continued terror attacks in area
GANEI TAL - Dozens of settlers left the Gush Katif settlement of Ganei Tal in the Gaza Strip at noon Sunday en route to Jerusalem for the funeral of Dov and Rachel Cole, scheduled to take place at 5:30 p.m. at Har Hamenuchot cemetery.
Jerusalem residents Dov Cole 58, and his wife Rachel Mizrahi-Cole, 53, were killed when Palestinian terrorists opened fire on their vehicle near the Kissufim crossing in southern Gaza earlier in the day.
IDF vehicles escorted the settler convoy and settlers were permitted to pass through the Kissufim roadblock without the usual inspections.
“The government should be ashamed of its acts, as it cannot ensure the safety of innocent citizens and cannot respond to the continued terror attacks against Gush Katif residents and their guests,” said Shlomo Vasertil, one of the organizers of the trip to Jerusalem.
The Coles were on their way back to Jerusalem from a visit to Rachel’s sister Ruti Cohen in Ganei Tal when they were shot and killed by two terrorists.
Five other Israelis were also wounded in the incident.
However, Ganei Tal settlers told Ynet they would not let the murders deter them.
“We will continue to travel along the Kissufim road – because it is our lifeline,” Vasertil said.
“The responsibility is placed entirely on the Israeli government, which is not reacting to such a murder. With our 'orange' convoy we are expressing our grief on the murder of the Cole couple and our protest on the government’s security policy.”
'It's Sharon's problem'
The IDF’s Gaza Division has launched an investigation into the incident with the aim of establishing whether the IDF was not wrong to open Kissufim road for convoy traffic following the previous firing of an anti-tank missile at an IDF outpost in the area.
“Residents on both sides of the road applied a lot of pressure to open the road,” an IDF official told Ynet.
Ganei Tal settler Ilan Lefler said, “We have suffered from terror attacks in the past, but today was very hard on us as the victims were our guests on Sabbath.”
“We are weary ahead of the 22 days that face us before the pullout. The terrorists will try to hurt us, and I hope the IDF will respond accordingly so we will not feel completely unsafe,” he said.
Gaza Shore Regional Council Head Avner Shimoni expressed his amazement at the fact that the IDF has not launched a ground offensive following the recent firing of Qassam rockets and mortar shells at Gush Katif settlements and in the wake of Sunday’s deadly shooting attack at Kissufim road.
“For a long time now we have been under the impression the IDF is not doing enough to stop the firing and prevent more Gush Katif casualties,” he said.
“The problem is not the IDF’s, but (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon and (Defense Minister Shaul) Mofaz's job to give the order.”
