Sderot mayor calls on Netanyahu to visit south

“Hamas decided whether to open fire or where to cease the fire,” Davidi says.

By TAMARA ZIEVE
Updated: JULY 15, 2018 20:58
Ahron Buhris, man injured by Hamas rocket fire landing in his Sderot home, talks about the incident in the hospital, July 15, 2018 (Barzilai Medical Center Spokesperson)
Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the residents of the south and listen to their feelings over the difficult weekend they experienced in which close to 200 projectiles were launched from the Gaza Strip toward the border communities.
Four Israelis were wounded on Saturday when a projectile hit a home in Sderot. Another rocket struck a courtyard of a synagogue in the community.
“I call, from here on, the prime minister and the cabinet ministers to be with the residents, to go down to the South and hear the sounds of their hearts at the end of the most difficult week that has been here since Operation Protective Edge,” Davidi said.
“Our feelings about the cease-fire are very difficult. It is Hamas who decides whether to open fire or to cease fire and not the State of Israel,” he said.
Zionist Union Leader Avi Gabbay also visited Sderot and spoke with the chairman of Sderot’s youth council Dvir Sasi, who told him that his seven-year-old neighbor was screaming that he didn’t want do die. “This is what the prime minister would have heard if he had bothered to come,” Gabbay said.
A mother, father and their two teenage daughters were wounded by shrapnel when their home was hit by a rocket from Gaza on Saturday. All were evacuated by Magen David Adom to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
Magen David Admon said a 14-year-old girl was lightly wounded in her legs, a 15-year-old girl was lightly wounded with injuries to her face from broken glass and a 52-year-old man was in moderate condition after sustaining a chest wound.
A video circulated by the medical center shows Aaron Buchris, the father of the family, lying in his hospital bed with dressings covering his forehead and check. He said that the family had been sitting in the lounge when the rocket struck their home.
“There was no siren. And suddenly the house exploded, glass flew all over them, they were all covered in blood and screaming and there was smoke everywhere. After a few minutes the neighbors came. I got shrapnel in my face, legs and my wife also was hurt in the head,” he said.
He described the scene: “Panic, screaming, a lot of blood – the TV and the aquarium exploded.”
Barzilai Medical Center spokeswoman Eilat Keidar told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday morning that the four were in light-to-moderate and stable condition, having all suffered shrapnel wounds to various parts of their bodies. The father was expected to have an operation this morning. It is not yet know when they will be released from hospital.
Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Uri Ariel visited the family’s house in Sderot on Sunday morning and sent his well wishes to the family. “I call from here to the prime minister to take serious steps and not to let Hamas dictate the agenda,” he said.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edlestein visited the home of the Buchris family, as well as the Rosenfeld family home, which was also harmed by projectiles.
“Hamas must not be allowed to change the rules in the region. We must act decisively against the heads of the organization, whose sole purpose is to harm us,” he said. “The solidarity between the residents here in Sderot is admirable, and it is even more evident in the difficult events we experienced over the weekend. I thank Mayor Alon Davidi for the spirit and the support he and his team give to the residents.”
Later, Edelstein visited the Sderot Trauma Center, which was established in the city after Operation Protective Edge.
Education Minister Naftali Bennnett also visited Sderot, and said: “Residents of Sderot and the Gaza envelope are entitled to security like any citizen of the State of Israel. We will oppose any cease-fire that allows Hamas to rearm for another round. This is not a cease-fire, it is a free pass for more rounds.”
“The residents of Sderot and the surrounding area tell us: ‘We are prepared to take it if you solve the problem.’ Therefore, all kinds of temporary truces on behalf of Hamas are unacceptable to us. This is not the way. The way is only through force, only through a thorough treatment of Hamas,” Bennett concluded.


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