Damage to northern Israeli settlements amounts to over $2.5bln: Report

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
24 Feb 2025 22:33

The head of Metulla’s council highlights that over 70% of housing units in the Israeli settlement have been damaged, with 50% in such poor condition that they are uninhabitable.

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A house sits damaged in Metula, on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (AP)

The estimated damage in Israeli settlements within the evacuated area in northern occupied Palestine amounts to approximately 9 billion shekels (over $2.5 billion), with around 2,900 buildings affected by Hezbollah fire from Lebanon, according to the Israeli Channel 14's website.

According to the plan presented by Likud Knesset member Ze'ev Elkin, who is responsible for overseeing the reconstruction of the north, direct damages are estimated at around 5.5 billion shekels, while indirect damages amount to 3.5 billion shekels.

Additionally, 103 educational institutions in the evacuated northern area, covering 43 settlements within 3.5 kilometers of the Lebanese-Palestinian border, sustained damage.

Among these settlements is Metulla, whose council head, David Azoulay, reiterated that it is impossible to receive settlers there, stating, "There is no place to return to."

Azoulay criticized the conduct of Israeli government ministers, asserting that "it is impossible to announce a return when there is no basic infrastructure to sustain community life."

In this regard, he highlighted that over 70% of housing units in Metulla have been damaged, with 50% in such poor condition that they are uninhabitable.

He added, "The education system has been destroyed, public institutions are in ruins, and even property tax officials acknowledge that no solution has been found yet."

Meanwhile, the chairman of the "State Control Committee," Yesh Atid Knesset member Mickey Levy, stated, "We have yet to hear how the government is preparing for the return of frontline settlers."

Levy added that northern settlement leaders have repeatedly warned that the government is neither prepared nor adequately preparing for the situation.

Similarly, Oded Forer, chairman of the Negev and Galilee Development Committee and a Knesset member from the Israel Beiteinu party led by Avigdor Lieberman, warned of security risks associated with the settlers' return without a real solution to protect the settlements.

Forer emphasized that settlers must have a secure place to return to, advocating for the establishment of a "buffer zone to prevent anti-tank missile fire and the potential capture of settlements," as he put it.

This comes ahead of March 1, the date set by the Israeli military, after which it stated there would be "no restrictions" on the return of northern settlers.

The decision has sparked anger among senior officials in northern settlements, with the head of Metulla’s council describing it as a "double abandonment" of northern settlers.