Gazan man killed in rocket strike on Israel recognized as victim of terror
Decision by Defense Ministry and National Insurance Institute entitles widow and children of Palestinian laborer Abdullah Abu Jaba to compensation by state
Israel announced Sunday that a Palestinian laborer from Gaza who was killed in a rocket attack while working in southern Israel on Saturday will be recognized by the state as a victim of terror.
The defense minister and the National Insurance Institute approved the measure, which will entitle the family of Abdullah Abu Jaba to state benefits, consisting of payments to his widow and children.
Abu Jaba, 34, was reportedly married with six children, ranging in age from a baby to 11 years old. His brother Hamad Abu Jaba was seriously injured in the same rocket strike at an agricultural building site near the southern border town of Shokeda.
An Israeli Bedouin man who was employed as a guard at the site was moderately wounded.
The men were apparently at the location in violation of IDF Home Front Command instructions and there was no bomb shelter available for them to seek refuge, the Haaretz daily reported on Sunday.
The report said that permission to carry out “limited work” during bouts of rocket fire from Gaza is only granted if there is a bomb shelter available for the workers, and in accordance with specific guidelines from the IDF.
According to the report, no such guidelines were issued during the recent fighting, and the bomb shelter at the construction site was still being built, with only the walls in place.
In addition, there was no rocket siren alert in the area because it was in an open area, Hebrew media reports said.
The three men had apparently tried to seek cover after hearing explosions from the Iron Dome anti-missile system as it intercepted other incoming rockets. Iron Dome only targets missiles identified as heading toward populated areas.
During the recent fighting, six foreign workers were injured in areas near the Gaza Strip. A Thai agriculture worker and a Chinese worker were both moderately injured and two more from Moldova were lightly injured.
Some 18,000 Gazans have permits to work in Israel. Hundreds were believed trapped in the country when the IDF launched its operation in response to rocket fire, and the border crossings were shut.
In addition to Abdullah Abu Jaba, one other person was killed in Israel in the recent flareup with the Gaza Strip, which ended in a ceasefire Saturday night. Eighty-year-old Inga Avramyan died in a rocket strike in the central city of Rehovot last week. Her grandson said she was trying to help her husband with disabilities reach shelter when the missile hit.
