JERUSALEM — An Israeli government report has determined that the Defense Ministry has
failed to protect Israeli communities from Palestinian missile strikes.
A report by the State Comptroller's office said the Defense Ministry
failed to respond to the Palestinian missile threat from the Gaza Strip. The
report by State Comptroller Micha Lidenstrauss said the ministry, and
particularly Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, refused to allocate funds to
reinforce the homes of Israelis to withstand Kassam-class, short-range
missile strikes.
"All of this reflects lack of professionalism and seriousness in the
decision-making process," Knesset State Audit Committee chairwoman Meli
Polishook-Bloch said, Middle East Newsline reported.
In March 2005, four months before the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,
the Defense Ministry ordered measures to protect Israeli communities from
Kassam strikes. Until then, the report said, the ministry resisted the
military's appeals for civil defense funds.
The report said two of 36 kindergartens in the Israeli city of Sderot
were provided protection against Kassam missiles. Sderot has been the
leading target of Palestinian missile gunners.
Three out of 46 Israeli communities within range of the Kassam received
allocations to help withstand missile strikes, the report said. The Defense
Ministry was said to have estimated the effective range of the Kassam at
seven kilometers.
The report said Mofaz ignored the Kassam threat as his ministry prepared
for the Israeli unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Mofaz was said to
have delayed Knesset budget allocations to reinforce the roofs of Israeli
homes and public buildings, build bomb shelters and install a system that
could alert authorities to a Kassam launch.
On Tuesday, the Knesset State Audit Committee called on Mofaz to resign.
The Knesset panel determined that Mofaz failed to "bolster communities
surrounding the Gaza Strip in wake of the evacuation."
"In any normal country, the defense minister would resign on a day when
such a severe comptroller's report is submitted," Knesset member Zevulun
Orlev said. "The comptroller should point to the person responsible for the
bloodshed as a result of the severe failure."
For his part, Lindenstrauss said he would release two additional reports
regarding the inadequate protection of Israeli communities near the Gaza
Strip. He said the reports would deal with Mofaz's personal responsibility.
This was the second time in a month that a Knesset committee questioned
Mofaz's conduct. In January, the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs
Committee determined that Mofaz lied when he claimed that Israel and the
Palestinian Authority had reached agreement for the passage of Palestinians
and cargo from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank.
On Wednesday, the committee, describing the incident as a
misunderstanding, withdrew its determination that Mofaz lied.
Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Gershon, head of the military's Home Front Command,
warned the Knesset State Audit Committee that the Palestinian missile threat
would extend to additional Israeli communities. Gershon said Palestinian
groups were increasing the range of the Kassam missile.
"Even if we conclude this [project], the criticism will continue,"
Gershon said. "Because there are thousands of houses without security rooms
in the area around Gaza. And we are talking about seven kilometers. The
increase of the Kassam range is a matter of time — to reach to 15 and 20
[kilometers]."
