Eshkol Regional Council Mayor: No Faith in Government

“My faith in the Israeli government has been buried, like my two friends who I am going to bury tomorrow,” said Chaim Yellin, mayor of the Eshkol Regional Council. “We’ve heard all the government’s slogans before - after Operation Cast Lead, after Defensive Shield. At the end of the day, the (statements) are little more than trial balloons.

“(Then) they’ll call from Jerusalem to tell us how much they are experiencing our pain. We don’t want their support - we want them to lead us to someplace we can hear quiet in the morning.

“Personally, each minister in the government is outstanding - real salt of the earth. But together, they act like it is a circus,” Yellin said.