Israeli settlements in the occupied north petition for compensation

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
1 Jan 2024 16:00

Israeli settlers find themselves abandoned and are demanding either evacuation or compensation for losses amid increasing operations in the north of occupied Palestine.

An image showing the damage cause by the Lebanese Resistance's guided missiles in the occupied 'Metula' settlement in the Israeli-occupied territories on December 31, 2023. (social media)

Urging to be evacuated or compensated for damages, 14 Israeli occupation settlements in the occupied north of Palestine, have petitioned the High Court, according to Haaretz.

Of the 14 settlements, seven are located within 5 km of the Lebanese border, and had been set to be evacuated according to the Israeli occupation's Security Minister, however, this has not happened yet.

The other seven settlements extend within 5 to 8 km of the Lebanese border and have claimed that their lives had been undermined by the failure of the Israeli occupation forces to deter the Lebanese Resistance, which has maintained the deterrence equation it had imposed on the occupation.

This comes after hundreds of settlers from the Israeli-occupied Palestinian north, on December 26, demonstrated in protest against the situation along the border with Lebanon, noting that "the government has lost the North," according to the Israeli news website Haaretz.

Israeli media reported settlers pointing fingers at the Israeli government and its leadership saying "He who abandoned the South will not save the North."

Israeli settlers find themselves devoid of the much-promised Israeli occupation's security, reported Haaretz, as they confess, "We are all refugees" and that "This is where the line of lawlessness passes."

In turn, the Israeli Channel 12 correspondent, at the time, reported that the roads in the North remain closed, at all times, for fear of Hezbollah's rockets. The correspondent underscored that the North is collapsing and that the daily routine of Israeli settlers there has become more complicated, stressing that the authorities there are very angry about the situation.

Nearly half a million Israelis left occupied Palestine since October 7

Earlier, on December 6, Israeli media reports revealed that a significant number of Israelis have departed from Palestine since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7th.

According to data from the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority, about half a million Israelis have left the occupied territories, Israeli news website Zman Yisrael pointed out.

During October (from October 7 to October 31), approximately 370,000 Israelis left Palestine, and during November, an additional 139,839 left.

The website noted that these figures do not include the tens of thousands of foreign workers and diplomats who have left Palestine after October 7 due to deteriorating conditions.

Moreover, the number of immigrants decreased from around 20,000 in the first quarter of 2023 to about 11,000 in the third quarter. In the initial weeks of the war, migration nearly came to a halt, with the number of immigrants to Palestine since October 7th constituting less than 1% of the Israelis who left.

The website emphasized that several Israeli media outlets misinterpreted the return of 300,000 Israelis to Palestine as a significant wave of migration, overlooking the fact that the majority of returnees came back solely from holiday vacations.