By Ryan Jones
Sep 11, 2005
Parents in the western Negev town of Sderot have expressed their increasing concern for the safety of their children as they attend school within range of Gaza-based ?Palestinian? rocket and mortar crews.
The Hamas terror group has fired over 600 of its Kassam rockets at Sderot over the past four years. Though the weapon is inaccurate, schools and other public areas have been a favorite target.
In June of last year a four-year-old boy and his grandfather were killed when a Kassam landed just outside a kindergarten.
With the IDF's presence in Gaza about to end, and few classrooms fortified against artillery attacks, many parents have threatened to simply keep their kids at home.
This is the ?day after the disengagement? scenario so many of the western Negev's residents feared, Arutz 7 reported.
Assessments by senior Israeli defense and intelligence officials over the past several months have only intensified those fears. Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, which the ?Palestinians? see as a victory for terrorism, is certain to result in increased attacks originating from the strip, officials have predicted.
As a temporary solution, Sderot's children will attend classes in shifts, utilizing only those classrooms fortified to withstand the bombardments that have plagued the town.
Just how long such a ?solution? can be maintained, and the detrimental affect the situation will have on the children?s studies will likely soon be apparent