Urgent phone calls from the prime minister’s office late afternoon on Aug. 14 caught by surprise the heads of the regional councils that are in close proximity to the Gaza Strip, on their way to Tel Aviv.
It was just three hours before a mass demonstration at Rabin Square in support of those in the south was scheduled to take place, where these local leaders were scheduled to appear as keynote speakers. Yet, they were told that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was inviting them for a meeting at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, right before the demonstration.