Ashkelon caught between Gaza rockets and gov’t indifference
Since the start of the war, Ashkelon has been targeted by 1,040 rockets, including 340 falling in the city and 180 direct hits, representing 25% of all the rockets fired at Israel. Despite being Israel’s “most targeted city,” the level of protection there is far from ideal.
The Ashkelon Municipality reported that 40,000 residents of the city’s older neighborhoods have no shelter at home. Although there are public shelters, this is not a satisfactory solution for them since they only have 30 seconds to reach the protected space. Some are elderly, and some are parents of small children who have to compromise on reaching the “most protected space.”
“The issue of protection during the most recent operation was living proof of the lack of dealing with this issue by all Israeli governments over the decades, and we hope that maybe this campaign will spark something,” the Ashkelon Municipality said in a statement.
Owners of essential businesses that remain in the city described it as a ghost town.
“There is no place where you don’t see damage,” said Eli Gutman, owner of the Archie restaurant, next to the beach. “There are no people on the streets. Supermarkets close in the afternoon, and people shut themselves in at home.”
The industrial areas are also empty.
Shmuel Dornstein, chairman and owner of the Rav Bariach reinforced security-door company, said: “Unlike the previous operations and rounds of fighting, the presence of the workers here in the industrial area is weaker, and this is understandable. So many people were killed in the region or wounded. The homes of quite a few employees have sustained direct damage. In the industrial zone, you see weapons of war, you see soldiers being transported, you see security forces.”
He said 100 employees out of the factory’s 580 employees came to work Wednesday morning. Some of them arrive at the factory and feel a certain relief because they don’t have a shelter at home, he added.
From his first day as Ashkelon’s mayor, Tomer Glam has screamed out over the issue of shelters, sources at the municipality told Globes. About a year ago, a shelters plan was formed that included grants of about NIS 320 million to residents, but it was never implemented. Six months ago, a cabinet decision was made that NIS 600m. would be invested in urban renewal programs that include shelters.
The Ashkelon Municipality is currently fighting for the city to be included in the emergency economic regulations, which include compensation for business owners, to which settlements up to seven km. from the border with the Gaza Strip are entitled. Ashkelon absurdly misses out on this matter. A major part of the southern industrial area of the city is included in the seven-km. range established by the state, but it does not receive benefits because the city center is farther away.
“Some of it is within seven km., and some is seven km. and 200 meters,” Dornstein said. “There has been an attempt to exclude factories beyond seven km. The entire industrial area should receive compensation. The shrapnel does not distinguish between seven km. and seven and a half km. The industrial zone is within range. The wise people in the Finance Ministry thought that the city center should determine compensation. We need the integrity of the state here. Stop talking big, and start showing action.”
The current law entitles residents of the Gaza Strip periphery and Sderot to compensation. But it does look likely that it will be decided to extend the range.
“The mayor has contacted many people in the government, including the prime minister, cabinet ministers, the defense and finance ministers, to bring Ashkelon into these regulations,” the Ashkelon Municipality said. “We don’t have shelters, and we don’t have tax benefits, but we will continue to fight to receive assistance.