Israel Matzav

Israelis leave and 'Palestinians' arrive in Sderot

The government has been completely inept at protecting the town of Sderot from Kassam rockets being rained down on it from the Gaza Strip. As a result, many Jewish residents have fled, much as the Jewish residents of the North did this past summer. But there are new residents moving into Sderot: 'Palestinians.'

The threat of Qassam rockets on Sderot brought about a recent exodus of many residents, but their homes have not remained empty. The falling property values allowed many families of Palestinian cooperating with the Israeli government and defense forces to buy homes, even mansions, in the more targeted areas of the city.

In the past six months, some ten Palestinian families arrived in Sderot, joining the 250-300 Palestinians already living there. Attorney Nathan Shreiber, who represents the Palestinians in the region, told Ynet that lowered housing costs are not the only incentive for the families to move to Sderot.

"As the situation in Gaza escalates, so the flow of people will increase," he says.

The Palestinians have become a common sight in the Sderot and surrounding areas. During Ariel Sharon's tenure as prime minister, one such Palestinian set up a tent in front of his farm, protesting that the government was shirking its responsibilities to him and those like him.

An additional community of Palestinians lives in Ashkelon, but is much smaller compared to that in Sderot.

Because their lives are based in Sderot, the families asked the municipality to build them a mosque and a Muslim cemetery. The request is still being formally debated, but sources in the municipality say that there is no intention of granting it, so as not to create tensions in the community.

"The minute that one of these residents will die, there will be a problem, because they will need to bury him in a special plot. They won't want to be buried anywhere else," Shreiber said.

These people are supposedly 'collaborators' but I would bet that if this continues, the line will eventually move up again, and the 'Palestinians' will claim that Sderot is part of Gaza.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:30 AM