Last update - 00:00 20/03/2007
Municipal heads chose not to call up emergency staff during war
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
During the second Lebanon war municipality heads in the North accused the government of not allowing them to issue emergency directives forcing essential workers to report for duty. It appears, however, that several municipalities chose not to call in their vital workers - who stayed home during the course of the war - even though they had the authority to do so.
Among the accusers was chair of the Union of Local Authorities, Adi Eldar.
However, Haaretz has learned that several municipalities that did have the authority to call in emergency personnel chose instead to rely on the IDF and volunteer work.
Some municipalities, such as Safed and Al-Shagur, did not contact the Trade Ministry's emergency personnel inspector in charge of issuing such directives throughout the war.
The Union of Local Authorities responded by saying that the current mechanism for personnel reinforcement was "cumbersome."