Israel reacts to heightened fears with added security measures

Israelis have expressed heightened fears about their security in the wake of Tuesday’s attack by Palestinians on a Jerusalem synagogue in which five people were killed.

The attack prompted the mayor of Ashkelon yesterday to ban Arab workers from his city, a move condemned by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who said there must be "no discrimination against Israeli Arabs".

In Jerusalem, which has been hit by attacks over recent months, extra security guards were posted outside schools, kindergartens, synagogues and in public places.

Routines disrupted

Jewish residents of Jerusalem have reacted to the Palestinian attacks by changing their daily routine. Some people will leave home only if necessary; others are avoiding the town centre and the outdoor market, despite the very heavy police presence, preferring the relative safety of shopping malls.

Many cyclists prefer pavements to roads, fearing the possibility of hit-and-run attacks.

The transport ministry is preparing to reactivate the special unit that provided protection against suicide bombers on public transportation during the second Palestinian intifada uprising from 2000 to 2005.

And Israel’s public security ministry is easing restrictions on Israelis allowed to carry firearms.

Police have ordered the postponement of a weekend football match between Israel’s top Arab team, Hapoel Sahknin, and Beitar Jerusalem, which has a hard-core of right-wing anti-Arab supporters.

Itamar Shimoni, the mayor of the southern city of Ashkelon, went as far as suspending the employment of some Israeli Arabs working in his city.

He posted on his Facebook page that, in light of the Jerusalem synagogue attack and fears expressed by parents, he planned to deploy armed guards to some 40 kindergartens near construction sites where Arabs work. He said he was suspending Arab workers contracted by the municipality to build bomb shelters for Ashkelon schools.

Arabs make up more than 20 per cent of Israel’s population and, unlike Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank and Gaza, have citizenship and are guaranteed full rights under Israeli law.

Racism condemned

Mr Shimoni’s call was criticised as racist and illegal by politicians across the political spectrum, including Mr Netanyahu.

“We must not generalise about an entire public due to a small and violent minority,” he said in a statement.

In response, the mayor, whose city came under almost daily rocket fire during the 50-day Gaza war in the summer, explained that the move was made in response to pressure from parents in his city, who were extremely anxious.

Dozens of Ashkelon residents protested in support of the Mr Shimoni last night. Justice minister Tzipi Livni asked Israel's attorney general to investigate the mayor's actions, saying any discrimination against workers based on nationality or religion was illegal.

An event hall manager in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, dismissed 17 Arab dishwashers. “I’m sick of providing them a living and getting an axe in the back in return,” he said. “They know how to work but I don’t trust them.”