The government on Tuesday faced criticism from the opposition for what the latter called Israel's weak response to the latest terrorist rocket fire from Gaza. Over 100 rockets were fired at Israel's south over the past weekend, killing two Israelis and wounding dozens. Israel responded with several days of precision airstrikes, after which an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire was imposed.
During an emergency Knesset session on Tuesday to discuss the latest round of violence, Opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni (Kadima) sparred with Minister of Improvement of Government Services MK Michael Eitan (Likud) over the government's handling of the recent flare-up of violence.
"Should Benjamin Netanyahu have responded like [former prime minister Ehud Olmert did] when he embarked on the Second Lebanon War?" Eitan said in response. Livni served as foreign minister in Olmert's government during that war, which lasted 33 days in the summer of 2006. The Winograd Commission formed after the war concluded that Olmert's government conducted a war without properly planning for it.
"Israel responded immediately and decisively. That's how an independent nation should respond and you should stand behind it. I can promise you we won't just sit behind Iron Dome [the anti-rocket defense system]," he said. According to Eitan, Livni should have praised the prime minister for building a border defence with Sinai, citing Livni's failure to do so during her tenure as foreign minister in the previous government.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak was the focus of harsh criticism due to his absence from the meeting. "The defense minister spoke of an error in planning by one officer or another. The man responsible for the people's security should return the keys [to the Defense Ministry] and go home," MK Majallie Whbee (Kadima) said.
Meanwhile, the Knesset Finance Committee held a session immediately after the weekend and determined that NIS 80 million (U.S. $22.5 million) was required to properly fortify educational facilities in the south from bombardment. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) called for immediate appropriation of the funds. "Ashkelon, Beersheba and Ashdod are metropolises, not front lines. Damaging them is a strategic threat," he said.
Rivlin's call for funds was not immediately embraced by the Chairman of the Finance Committee Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism).
"You cannot request specific transfers without giving a clear picture on the government's policy," Gafni said in response.
