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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Tel Aviv told to be on rocket alert |
| 2006-07-16 |
| The Home Front Command has re-examined its instructions following the lethal barrage of rockets fired on Haifa. "We may have been mistaken in our situation analysis and instructions we gave to residents," Colonel Yehiel Kopperstein, head of the Protection Division of the Home Front Command said. He added that the considerations behind deciding preparations for citizens and the issuing of instructions during emergencies must strike a balance between the security situation and the desire not to harm normal life. The rocket barrage on Haifa took place minutes after Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz held a situation analysis at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, during which he ordered attacks on Hizbullah across the whole of Lebanon. Immediately after the rocket attacks on Haifa the Home Front Command reissued more severe instructions, telling all residents of Tirat Hacarmel, Haifa, Krayot, Akko, and all northern residents north of Akko, the Amiad Junction, and Carmiel, to enter protected rooms or interior rooms in residential apartments. Residents of the frontline have been told to stay in bomb shelters, while residents of Tel Aviv and northwards have been told to increase their vigilance and be prepared for a rocket attack. Yesterday the Home Front Command instructed Haifa residents to remain within buildings, not to assemble outdoors, and to go to work only if their places of work is within an enclosed structure. The Home Front Command decided not to shut down public transportation, which would have avoided a large number of casualties on Sunday. |
| Posted by:Steve White |