The IDF Home Front Command today changed its guidelines for factories in the south. The decision whether to open a factory will be based on its protection, not its distance from the Gaza Strip. The new guidelines mean that many factories in Sderot and the area surrounding the Gaza Strip can now open.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that the Home Front Command revised its guidelines last night, but could not get approval from the commanding officer.
Home Front Command orders shut all factories, except for essential enterprises, in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip when Operation Cast Lead was launched on Saturday. The orders allowed enterprises farther from the Gaza Strip, in the areas of Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat, Netivot, and Ashdod to stay open provided they had protected spaces.
Despite the orders, many enterprises in Sderot decided to open on Sunday, in an effort to display a mood of business as usual, despite hits by Hamas rockets in the area. No one ordered the enterprises to close. The Manufacturers Association of Israel urged the Home Front Command to amend its orders. The Manufacturers Association said that many factories in the Sderot area were so protected that many employees prefer to be at work rather than home, which was less safe.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 30, 2008
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