Ashkelon mayor postpones school year fearing resistance rocket fire

Ashkelon Mayor, Itamar Shimoni has postponed the school year in the city saying he will not allow schools to begin amid continued rocket fire from Gaza, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Israel National Radio quoted the mayor as saying: “I will not allow the school year to begin in schools and kindergartens that are not fortified.”

Fortified schools are roofed with concrete blocks and solid metal to protect them from missile strikes and include underground shelters.

These schools constitute 30 per cent of the total educational institutions in Ashkelon.

The radio station pointed out that Shimoni’s decision comes despite Education Minister Shai Piron’s announcement yesterday that the school year will begin in Israel as scheduled on September 1.

Meanwhile, several heads of settlements on the border with the Gaza Strip announced that they will not start the school year if the rockets continue to fall on the settlements.

Israeli Radio said the Sapir Academic College, near the town of Sderot in the southern Israel, announced that studies will resume on schedule next week. “The decision was taken in consultation with the competent security authorities and based on their recommendations,” the station announced noting that the college is fortified against rocket attacks.

Recently, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper published a report saying “the most cities to have come under rocket fire during the recent war were Beersheba, Ashkelon and Sderot, all located in southern Israel.

Ashkelon depends primarily on tourism to generate its income.

The municipalities of southern Israel have been demanding the Israeli government fortify all schools there.