PM says Hizbullah diverted the world's attention during G8 meeting.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS, JPOST STAFFolmert speaking 298 88ap(photo credit: AP)
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert went within range of Hizbullah rockets Tuesday night, visiting the northern town of Haifa for talks with mayors and local authority heads.
He said that the Hizbullah's attacks on Israel's northern border were designed to divert the world's attention from Iran during the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg; according to Olmert, the plan worked.
Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon told Channel 2 television that Olmert wanted to meet face-to-face with officials from the northern towns and cities that have been pounded for the past week by rockets fired by Hizbullah from Lebanon.
Eight people were killed by rocket fire in Haifa Sunday and the city took several more hits Tuesday, with at least three people injured and a three-story building destroyed.
No rockets fell during Olmert's visit, which took place without prior publicity.
"It was important for him to get to the north," Maimon said. "To be in the north, together with the northern residents, to be with the local authority heads, to hear their problems."
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