Israel: Missile Attacks

Title:Israel: missile attacks
House: COUNCIL
Activity: Members Statements
Members: KAVANAGH
Date: 26 November 2009
Page: 5663


Mr KAVANAGH (Western Victoria) -- As Mrs Kronberg did yesterday, I would like to express my admiration for the people of Sderot, Israel, which is a town we visited last week. The people of Sderot have been victims of almost daily missile attacks from the Gaza Strip over several years. None of us would be surprised by deplorable acts committed in the course of the Middle East conflict, but, in the case of Sderot, some acts in civilian areas are targeting civilians. The people who are forced to allow their backyards and neighbourhoods to be used as missile launching places are secondary victims, but the primary victims are the people who are being fired at. We saw primary schools which have had huge concrete structures built over them in an attempt to protect children to some extent from missiles. Kindergartens are built from missile-resistant materials. Even playgrounds have bomb shelters in them that are virtually disguised as children's toys.
I express my admiration for the people of Sderot and their tenaciousness.
No doubt any appeal to the people firing the missiles would be futile. But I ask my fellow Australians to understand that Israel is likely to have to respond and in that circumstance to ask themselves what they would do if their neighbouring property was being used as a place from which to fire missiles at them and their families.