Shomron Ready to Lend a Helping Hand During War, Council Head Says

As things calmed down somewhat in the late morning hours, the Homefront Command lifted some of its restrictions on public activities that had been imposed earlier in the day. Schools in Tel Aviv and nearly all communities south remained closed, but residents of Tel Aviv were told that they could go to work if they wanted to.

Earlier, the Homefront Command had called for all workers to stay home, unless they worked at an “essential enterprise” which could include anything from working in a hospital to baking bread. Speaking on Reshet Bet, a Homefront Command spokesperson said that “this does not include, for example, a lawyer’s office or a falafel stand.”

With that, security officials said it was likely that the current round of fighting could continue for several days – and if that is the case, residents of the Shomron will be happy to open their homes to Israelis who are forced to leave their homes in the south or other areas of the country.

Shomron Council head Yossi Dagan on Tuesday informed Homefront Command director Tamir Yed’ie that residents of the Shomron were “ready and able to host Israelis, according to the plan that was adopted in 2009 and in previous years.”

That year marked Operational Cast Lead, in which southern and central Israel experienced weeks of rocket fire from Gaza terrorists. During that war, hundreds of residents of the south took up residence in Shomron communities. The Shomron is relatively safe during these flareups from Gaza, said Dagan, because of the proximity of communities to Arab villages. “This limits the danger of communities in the Shomron being targeted by rocket fire,” Dagan said.