Even Sderot bomb shelters are decorated for children. Illustrative. By Joshua Spurlock
Terrorists in Gaza have launched a new terror campaign against Israel as part of the regular riots near the fence between Gaza and Israel—kites lit on fire flown over the border intended to start wildfires. In response, one of the Israeli towns near Gaza—Sderot—has their own kite plan: a kite-making festival with a message of peace.
The town is hosting on Monday the workshop for children in the area that will allow each kid to make their own kites with a personal message in them. Afterwards, the children “will fly their kites replete with positive messages, in a kind of therapeutic activity,” said a press release from the Sderot Municipality Spokesperson.
Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi said in the press release, “As opposed to our neighbors from the Gaza Strip who have turned the wonderful hobby of flying kites into an act of terrorism, with terrible damage to agriculture, the children of Sderot and the surrounding communities are returning the kite to its source… Ours are kites of life, not death.”
In addition to kite-making, the workshop will also tell the children stories about kites, as well as facts on the development of the kite.
The terror kites have been an extensive threat to Israel, with The Times of Israel reporting on Saturday that authorities said the hundreds of kites and balloons wielding flame have ignited more than 200 fires since March 30.
On Saturday, the IDF Spokesperson said on Twitter that the IDF fired warning shots at Palestinians attaching explosive devices to balloons with the intent to “ignite fires and cause extensive damage to Israeli territory.”
“The IDF views the use of incendiary balloons and kites with explosive devices attached to them with great severity and will operate to prevent their use,” tweeted the IDF Spokesperson in a follow-up post.
And while the Palestinian terror kites have ignited a new conflict with Israel, the hope in the Jewish State is that the flying children’s toys return to their peaceful roots.
“We are busy with positive things and optimism and the desire that our children always be happy,” said Sderot Mayor Davidi. “I also call on the children of Gaza to enjoy playing with kites and not be drawn astray by terrorist elements.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, June 10, 2018)