'Despite closing of Nizmit Hill there are many observation points over Gaza

By AMIR MIZROCH
In reaction to the closure of the Nizmit Hill lookout, the foreign ministry, which on Sunday opened an office in Sderot to better coordinate foreign media coverage, fact-finding and solidarity missions, said there were other observation points from which visitors could get a perspective on the Gaza-Sderot situation. The site was cordoned off following assertions by Public Security Minister Avi Dichter that the observation point - where his bureau chief Mati Gill was wounded by gunfire from the Gaza Strip on Friday - poses a danger to visitors. "If the security forces get wind of a threat to a specific point, they must warn people and close it down, if they didn't do so it would be serious negligence," Hanan Godar, the Foreign Ministry's Sderot official told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Godar said there were other observation points around the Gaza envelope which were less vulnerable to sniper fire from Gaza, and which would now be used by the foreign ministry and other groups to take visiting delegations. Still, Godar warned that anyone visiting Sderot and the surrounding areas needed to be aware that they were entering a war zone. "Hamas fires at anything that moves on our side because it is a terrorist organization," he said. JPost.com staff contributed to this report