Israeli leaders visit Majdal Shams after deadly rocket attack – Israel Policy

On Saturday and Sunday, more than a dozen ministers and members of Knesset visited the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams after a deadly rocket attack that killed at least 11 children and wounded dozens.

Ministers who visited the country included: Minister of Economy Nir Barkat (Likud), Minister of Environment Idit Silman (Likud), Minister of Development of the Negev and Galilee and National Resilience Yitzhak Wasserlauf (Otzma Yehudit), Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer.

Knesset members who visited the city included opposition leader MP Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), four MPs from the Yesh Atid party, and National Unity Party chairman MP Benny Gantz.

Some MPs made statements at the scene of the explosion.

“The children who died on that soccer field could have been any one of our children,” Lapid said. “The state’s job is to keep children safe. Children should not die in wars between adults. The state failed, the government failed,” Lapid said, adding that “the response will be harsh and will reverberate throughout the Middle East.”

Mourners carry a coffin during the funeral of children killed by a Hezbollah rocket in Majdal Shams, northern Israel, July 28, 2024. (Source: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

Barkat said he expected a “change in reality” from the government, moving from a “policy of containment” to a “painful attack” on the Lebanese state, which would “enable Hezbollah to attack from its territory.”

Residents outraged by MK

Some residents were unhappy with the visits and accused Barkat, Silman and Smotrich. One resident accused Barkat and Silman of “abandoning” the North and only coming to visit after the attack.

Ynet reported Sunday that the head of the Druze authorities forum, Jaber Jadvan, had sent a letter to members of parliament asking them not to attend the funerals of the slain children. Jadvan reportedly wrote that “due to the sensitivity of the situation, we ask that the massacre not be turned into a political event. We ask for a quiet, religious funeral in accordance with Druze custom.”