Sderot mayor urges invasion of Gaza Strip

The mayor of Sderot, an Israeli town near the occupied Gaza Strip, has urged the government to back a ground invasion of the blockaded territory.

According to far-right news outlet Arutz Sheva, Mayor Alon Davidi criticised the ceasefire agreement reached with Palestinian factions, in remarks to Israeli television’s Channel 13 this morning.

Claiming that “[Operation] Protective Edge’s achievements were exhausted” – a reference to the 2014 assault on the Gaza Strip – Davidi said the goal is not short-term quiet.

“Our goal is to achieve quiet for a long time, and only an operation like Protective Edge will achieve it,” he said.

READ: 13 schools were damaged in Israel’s offensive on Gaza

The Sderot mayor bemoaned the fact that, in his words, “this entire round was created in the wake of terrorist fire at the IDF [Israel army] and not because we said that we would hit the terrorists.”

“Let us hit them, because they bring evil to the world and violate the peace of our residents,” Davidi added. “The situation that has been created came as a response, and we don’t need to respond – but to initiate.”

Davidi told the media that “he is talking to the prime minister and the various relevant authorities, giving voice to the position of the residents of his city.”