By KUNA
Gaza : Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmer is planning to recommend that the state fully reinforce all private houses within 4.5 kilometers of the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Sunday.
Haaretz paper said the recommendation will be submitted Sunday by Olmert’s office to a special ministerial committee on protecting Gaza-area communities.
In the past, the government had offered to fund only partial reinforcement, which residents of these communities deem insufficient, the daily said.
“The current proposal is based on the effective range of the ‘Iron Dome’ anti-rocket system, which is currently under development. Recent tests found the system effective against rockets fired from more than four kilometers away, but not against those fired from closer range.
“Therefore, some 8,000 houses within this distance of Gaza would need to be reinforced About a month ago, Alon Schuster, head of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, wrote Defense Minister Ehud Barak and warned that Iron Dome would not protect the communities nearest to Gaza because it takes between 10-20 seconds for a Qassam rocket fired from Gaza to reach Sderot and other nearby communities, the daily said.