After Gaza pullout, border zone is on the front line, more than ever Uriel Heilman 18 May 2006 ASHKELON, Israel, May 18 (JTA) -- The boom of artillery fire along Israel's southern coast provides an incongruous backdrop to the bikini-clad girls, scruffy fishermen and ice cream stands just upwind of these sandy Mediterranean beaches, in the city of Ashkelon. But with a Hamas-run quasi-state next door in Gaza, constant rocket fire in the direction of Israeli communities and daily attempts by Palestinians to infiltrate into Israel, this new frontier -- occasioned by Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last summer -- has become the site of a massive Israeli military buildup. The Israel Defense Forces is beefing up positions atop sand dunes all along the coast here, fortifying lookouts,... |
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