Residents of Israel's south are satisfied with the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and agree that Operation Breaking Dawn has been a successful one for Israel, but are not convinced that Israel has restored deterrence against the Palestinian terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip.
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Tzachi, who lives in Sderot, said he was worried that the calm wouldn't last and the conflict would erupt again within months.
"It [the operation] was short, and of course restored calm is welcome. It's always nice to get back to your regular routine. But we don't want routine in the short term, then go back to another round of fighting three months, five months, or eight months from now," he said.
"We want an end to it, but of course, we're happy to get back to our normal lives. We hope it [the cease-fire] will last and we won't have to calm the kids down after another sleepless night of stress," Tzachi added.
Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi told Israel Hayom that "Israel should kill terrorists and tell the citizens, 'You keep living your lives as usual, and the IDF will do the work.' I'm telling the prime minister and all the ministers – we must not go back to a situation where terrorists in Gaza can't be touched while terrorists are killed in Judea and Samaria. There's one law for terrorists in Judea and Samaria and another for terrorists in Gaza. There needs to be one law for all the citizens of Israel and the western Negev."
Davidi also discussed the days leading up to the latest IDF operation in Gaza, during which much of the western Negev was under a military closure, causing businesses to lose money.
"Even now, we don't know whether the residents will be compensated for not going to work, for the damage to farming, for the businesses that suffered. I expect the finance minister to come tomorrow. We'll work on it together and he'll give us answers," Davidi said.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday asked the country's Tax Authority (ITA) chief to provide aid for residents who were affected by the ongoing conflict with Gaza terrorists.
The minister urged ITA director Eran Yaacov to consider temporary regulations that would enable compensations for Israelis living in settlements, who were ordered to stay at home in the past days due to the Operation Breaking Dawn.
"The people of Israel are strong, and the enemy knows it too. We will do everything in our power to ensure the economic and security stability of the citizens of Israel in general and the residents of the South in particular," Lieberman said during an emergency meeting of his ministry.
According to a damage report website and hotline established by the ITA for residents of Ashkelon that was heavily targeted by strikes in recent days, over 100 people have already reported damage to their property.
Meanwhile, head of the Eshkol Regional Council Gadi Yarkoni, who lost both his legs in a mortar attack at the very end of Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, has issued a personal appeal to residents of the western Negev to remain vigilant about security protocol.
"I was hit five minutes before the cease-fire. Because of the reports about a cease-fire, it's important to me to warn you, personally and from my own experiences – it ain't over till it's over! The last rocket can do just as much damage as the first one. Keep following instructions, they save lives," Yarkoni said.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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