The Northern Front

July 14 2006

Kiryat Schmone, Northern Israel
(6 miles from the Lebanon Border)

Driving into a town where there are no cars on the roads, no people in streets and the traffic lights are just flashing amber is sombre. Kiryat Schmone is normally a busy tourist town, the Switzerland of Israel as it is refered to by locals. There is not one tourist here and every shop has its shutters down, the bomb shelter doors are open and residents spend most of their time bunkered down.

Our vantage spot looks out to the North and Lebanon, to the south in the valley is Kiryat Schmone. The stillness of the hot summer winds is only broken by the sound of incoming Katusah Rockets being fired in from Lebanon and landing blocks away. Police are driving around on their loudspeakers telling everyone to get into the shelters.

Earlier this afternoon when I was setting up the dish on the roof of our operation, a rocket whistled in and landed only a couple of blocks away, with an all mighty bang. At times the fields to the north have constant plumes of smoke and dust rising.

Itseems so starnge that a couple of days ago, down in Gaza I was under fire from Israel artillery pounding Hamas , and now I am on the other side of the fence. The trouble is in warzones, is that you cannot sit on that fence.

Mal
Kiryat Schmone
Northern Israel