(BBC News) Raffi Berg - When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in August 2005, life for the residents of the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara changed overnight. Bordering Gaza, Netiv was formerly neighbors with a cluster of Jewish settlements, but their disappearance meant the village now became the closest community in Israel to the Gaza Strip. The village is just 400 meters away from the edge of the Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya, and the impact on the village was felt immediately. It is this proximity which has made the village highly vulnerable to Kassam rocket attacks, a favored weapon of Palestinian militants in Gaza.
2005-11-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive