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Protective Cover

[Ha'aretz] Noam Dvir - How does one prevent a rocket from penetrating a building and causing casualties and mass destruction? The Negev region bordering Gaza - with a population of about 200,000 - has in the past three years become one of the largest building sites in the country. In all architectural drawings of structures designed for the communities bordering Gaza, the "area under threat" has become an integral part of every design, from the position of the building to the thickness of the window glass. Protected spaces in the areas under threat are supposed to be separated by a distance of no more than 20 meters - a sprint of 15 seconds. So Kibbutz Kfar Aza is covered in concrete. Lawns and paths are dotted with hollowed-out concrete blocks designed to provide temporary shelter during a missile attack. Above the children's houses are massive concrete canopies that provide protection from a direct hit. Public buildings like the dining room and the cultural center have become white elephants, because their size and shape make them impossible to protect. Ironically, because they are the best-protected buildings on the kibbutz, the children's houses became the most sought-after places during Israel's recent operation in Gaza. The parents stayed with the children even after school hours, and several of the families even spent the night. A recently built kindergarten has visors for protection against a direct hit at the windows, walls of reinforced concrete 40 centimeters thick, and steel plates concealed in areas likely to be hit. There is even an inner secure room with an advanced air filtration system. "Kfar Aza was a kibbutz that used to bustle with life and children," said local resident Yoav Halperin. "At 4 p.m., after the children's houses closed, all the lawns were full of people, a real carnival. It's not like that any longer."
2009-02-27 06:00:00
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