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Evacuated Israeli settlers refuse to return to north or south

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
7 Dec 2023 20:10
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Israeli settlers have announced their refusal to go back to their residences near Gaza or Lebanon and expressed distrust in government assurances of security.

Israeli settlers with their luggage wait at a bus stop in the northern settlement of "Kiryat Shmona" on the border with Lebanon waiting to be evacuated on October 22, 2023 (Social media)

Israeli media reported on Thursday that "Eilat" (Umm Al-Rashrash) is facing an economic crisis following the relocation of approximately 35,000 Israelis, who were evacuated from their settlements to this area.

Channel 12 highlighted a significant rise in unemployment and a decrease in business activity in "Eilat," which is located along the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, amid a lack of governmental support.

In related news, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange opened with a decline on Thursday morning. This downturn coincides with the ongoing war on Gaza, which has now persisted for two months, contributing to a steep downward trajectory in the Israeli economy.

The current financial crisis is largely attributed to a sharp increase in military expenditures, coupled with a stagnation in key revenue-generating sectors such as tourism, banking, and technology.

Bloomberg recently reported that approximately 57,000 Israeli companies are projected to close this year due to the war.

The report further noted that Israeli businesses are grappling with a workforce shortage, following the mobilization of about 300,000 individuals, or 8 percent of the labor force. Moreover, the drafting of many Israelis, particularly irreplaceable technical specialists in the tech sector, has exacerbated this issue.

Since the onset of the launch of the Israeli aggression on the Strip on October 7, extensive settler evacuations have been conducted in northern and southern regions of occupied Palestine, prompted by concerns over operations from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Resistance in Gaza.

According to the Financial Times, these evacuations have resulted in unemployment for 764,000 Israelis, a figure that represents one-fifth of the Israeli workforce.

Fear of returning

Israeli media reported on Thursday that tens of thousands of settlers, who were previously evacuated from settlements near the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese borders, feel no desire to return to their residences.

In a piece published by Yedioth Ahronoth, the newspaper's correspondent for security affairs in the Gaza Envelope expressed deep frustration over the situation regarding the evacuation from settlements.

Titled "What reality will we return to?", Matan Tsuri wrote that after two months away from "home," everything has turned upside down, and a sense of sadness and pain is prevalent among the settlers.

"In recent days, I have heard military personnel, from the Chief of Staff to junior officers, begin to address us, residents of the Gaza envelope, about the day after the war. I hear statements about ensuring our security and making us feel safe to return home. And who doesn't want to return home? Yet, I also hear their fears - about the day when the end of the war will be declared," he said.

He continued that "these statements from officials have been met with refusal by the settlers of the envelope (and of course, those in the north) to return, saying: 'No thanks, we're not coming back, [and we are serious].. the real question is how many will not go back, how big the fracture will be ... repairing this situation will take years."

No timetable

Speaking to Channel 12, an Israeli settler discussed the reality of the evacuees, noting settlers from the south and tens of thousands from the north have moved to "permanent temporary homes," while they are declaring: "We will not return to the same reality."

Meanwhile, the former head of Israeli Military Intelligence Aman, Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash, stated, "It's impossible to return to this reality, neither in the north nor certainly in the Gaza envelope. I think no one can give a timetable, and this will take time."

"Even if the intense fighting [in Gaza] ends in the next two or three weeks while we still haven't solved the problem in the north, and until it becomes clear that we will return to the 1701 resolution, it will be difficult to see the residents of the north returning to their homes."