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Ya'alon blamed for neglecting Israelis living near Gaza

Heads of localities in southern Israel near Gaza blame Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon for neglecting their security, following decision to cut back the defense budget despite the turmoil in the Sinai Peninsula.
Palestinian demonstrators protest near the Israeli border fence with Gaza, as Israeli soldiers stand guard on the other side near Karni crossing, January 17, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen  (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST RELIGION POLITICS) - RTX17IF1
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Heads of localities in the Gaza Envelope region and near the Egyptian border accuse Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon of abandoning their security. This, in the wake of Ya’alon’s decision to abolish the protection of these localities, formerly provided by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. In addition, Ya’alon also decided to cut back the basket of military services they enjoyed until now, including funding for a circumferential fence, an electronic gate, a weapons storehouse and a security coordinator. The heads of the authorities claim that Ya’alon himself explained to them that these steps were taken in light of the “changes in the mapping of threats.”

Al-Monitor obtained a letter sent to Ya’alon by Shmuel Rifman, chairman of the Union of Regional Councils and head of the Ramat Negev Regional Council, in which he accuses the defense minister of making an “unreasonable, inappropriate and immoral” decision. “Mr. Minister, we evidently do not live in the same country,” Rifman wrote. “Since you assumed office, we perceive a worrisome process in which the state renounces responsibility for the security of the localities along the length of its borders — in the communities of the Gaza Envelope on the Egyptian border, on the northern border and the Golan. … To the best of my knowledge, the newspaper headlines in the State of Israel have not announced that peace has erupted. The opposite is true: Over the recent weeks, the Gaza Envelope residents experienced a large number of Code Red alerts.”

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