Haifa mayor to gov't: Declare state of war

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav was lobbying the Cabinet to declare that Israel was in a state of war. The government's failure to do this has generated a lot of anger, Yahav told reporters in Haifa on Wednesday. He noted that a cabinet vote to that effect would enable financial assistance to be delivered to thousands of northern residents who have lost their homes from rocket attacks or whose businesses were suffering because they have been closed for close to two weeks. It would also provide a framework in which people could file for compensation, he added. Yahav estimated that Haifa's economy lost billions of shekels as a result of the hostilities. "You name it, everything is on hold," he said.