Attack on Sderot

The mayor of Sderot resigned in protest after at least 15 Kassam rockets struck the area.

While giving an interview on the latest surge in Palestinian rocket attacks against his town from the nearby Gaza Strip, Mayor Eli Moyal made the surprise announcement he was quitting.

"I hereby inform you that I am resigning as mayor of Sderot right now," Moyal told Israel Radio. "Let the country hear. Perhaps this will get the government to undertake action for the sake of the residents’ lives."

He added: "I don’t need this job. It’s too big for one man: Seven years, 5,000 reasons. For each Kassam rocket I should have resigned. We did everything. Let the government come and say how Sderot should be run. I am no longer there."

Israeli government officials had no immediate comment on Moyal's announcement, but some pundits suggested the mayor might have ulterior motives after it was revealed recently that police were investigating him. Moyal has denied wrongdoing.

(c) JTA