Norwegian FM Caught in Rocket Attack in Ashkelon

The Norwegian foreign minister Børge Brende had an unfriendly welcome in Ashkelon on Wednesday, though it was no fault of his Israeli hosts.

While in Ashkelon with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, air raid sirens sounded warning of rockets from Gaza.

Lieberman, Brende and their entourage immediately went into a bomb shelter. Moments later, a rocket landed not far from the shelter where they were taking cover.

Earlier in the day, Lieberman and Brende visited at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon where 16-year-old Yarin Levy, the teen who was seriously injured by a rocket attack on Sunday, is recovering.

Lieberman said that Israel must do everything possible to allow children to have a normal day-to-day life. “Israeli children deserve to have a summer vacation just like children in the rest of the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brende dismissed calls from pro-Palestinian groups saying the Norwegian government should expel Israel’s ambassador and impose sanctions for its raids on the Gaza strip, according to a Norwegian media report.

Brende, who is in the region to help arrange a ceasefire, said the calls were neither serious nor constructive.

Norway’s Directorate of Health reportedly recommended the government send more financial and health support to the Gaza Strip, and even consider taking in wounded Palestinians.

This article appeared in print on page 7 of the July 17th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.