Sderot’s open-air market is open and bustling for the first time in a month, thanks to newfound quiet following Israel’s punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Many residents of this rocket-scarred town, like the people thronging the market to buy shoes, clothes and vegetables, say they see the operation as a long-overdue military success — but also believe the
good times will be short-lived.
”There is no victory here, only quiet,” said Eli Asayag (55) who runs a restaurant in Sderot.
Sderot is less than a kilometre from Gaza, a convenient and frequent target for the homemade rockets manufactured by Gaza militant over the
years. Thousands have exploded in this town of 20 000, traumatising residents and damaging many of the houses and businesses, though relatively few people have been killed or wounded.
The satisfaction in Sderot with the military’s performance coupled with a belief in the implacable nature of their enemy and despair of ever being free of the shadow of violence are recurring themes in
Israel’s south. People here see the recent offensive as a much-needed restoration of their country’s deterrent power, a corrective after the inconclusive and frustrating end of the war against Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006, and a stirring example of national unity.
But they also see it not as a definitive blow but as a particularly successful round in a match that they seem to expect to continue indefinitely.
”If this brings us a half-year of quiet or a year, it’s good, if it brings us 10 years it’s great. But we never forget that Gaza will always be our neighbour, and as long as Hamas is in control there, we will be in danger,” said David Buskila, the town’s mayor.
Hagit Didi, a mother of three, left Sderot six months ago because of the rocket fire, relocating to the nearby town of Netivot — only to find herself in danger there when Hamas rocket squads increased their range.
”There won’t be quiet here for long. How can you defeat people like this?” she said. Her eight-year-old son has grown up with the rockets and has never slept anywhere but with her in her bed, Didi said.
During the fighting, Shimon Elmaliach (41) who sells women’s leather boots for $25 a pair in the market, took his wares to Tel Aviv, where women purchased shoes they didn’t need simply because he was from
Sderot. ”They did it to express solidarity,” he said. ”Our unity — that was our victory.”
During the fighting, Israelis out of rocket range volunteered to take in people displaced by the violence, and there was an outpouring of support for Israeli troops.
In Nahal Oz, a communal farm in green fields just a few hundred metres from the Gaza border fence and within eyesight of the suburbs of Gaza City, residents say the years of rocket fire are slowly killing
their community. They are not confident the offensive will effect real change.
Two Israeli-made Merkava tanks stand between Nahal Oz and Gaza, pointing their cannons into the Palestinian territory. Several dozen tanks remain in rows in a staging ground nearby, waiting to go into
action if the week-old cease-fire falls apart.
”We very much wanted this operation, not because we are warmongers but because we have lived with this reality for years,” said Yemima Barnea, who is in charge of bringing new families to the community. Her
job, she said, has become virtually impossible.
”It was very successful,” she said of the offensive, ”but if we ask if it had a real change in our ability to look ahead to a better future, that’s hard for us”.
But not everyone is pessimistic.
Ofer Shmerling, who runs a restaurant at a nearby gas station, calls the operation’s results ”excellent”. Until a few days ago, he displayed a sign reading simply, ”We won.”
His confidence is based on the military’s show of strength and the deterrence he believes it restored. Hamas, he said, realised it had pushed Israel too far.
”They didn’t dream we would go crazy like that, but we went crazy, and they ran like rabbits and left their people exposed,” he said.
Israel’s Arab enemies, and especially the Lebanese militants of Hezbollah, were too afraid to do anything more than make angry speeches, he said. ”When the Jews go crazy, everyone else goes quiet.”
Shmerling ventured a prediction: ”I think everything will be all right.” – Sapa-AP