By Rachel Avraham
Since the recent escalation began, seven Israelis have been killed, as over 850 rockets have been fired into the State of Israel. Khalil Awad, age 52 and his 16-year-old daughter Nadin, who were Israeli Arab residents of Lod, were killed when a rocket hit their car. Two other women were killed in Ashkelon and another one was killed in Rishon LeTzion. 5-year-old Ido Avigal who has been hit by shrapnel in the south city of Sderot succumbed to his wounds. 21-year-old Staff. Sgt. Omer Tabib of Elyakim also succumbed to his wounds after his vehicle was hit by an anti-tank missile fired from the northern Gaza Strip.
From Tuesday night through Wednesday, bomb sirens went off across the country, from Be’ersheva to the greater Tel Aviv area. At the same time, riots were reported in Lod, Acre, Ramla and other mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel. According to Palestinian Media Watch, “the Fatah Movement with all its elements and leadership calls to continue this uprising” and urged “everyone to raise the level of confrontation.”
Following these developments, Ayoob Kara, who served as Israel’s Communication, Satellite and Cyber Minister, proclaimed: “Abu Mazen proved that he is not a partner for peace. He exploits Israel for his needs on the Palestinian street and around the world. His decision to postpone the elections over Jerusalem led to panic for since the Oslo Agreements, Jerusalem is not under Abu Mazen’s control. However, it is comfortable for him that the elections were postponed over Jerusalem. This was done at the expense of the Palestinian public.”
