New crisis: No room for Israeli settlers fleeing from South, North
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Around 120,000 settlers have been evacuated by authorities from all over occupied Palestine, as 'Israel' reaches its maximum capacity for emergency hotel rooms.
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Israeli occupation forces work on evacuating settlers from the settlement of "Kiryat Shmona", in northern occupied Palestine, near the Palestinian-Lebanese border on October 20, 2023. (AFP)
Authorities in "Eilat" are preparing to set up tents for the tens of thousands of Israeli settlers who fled Gaza's Envelope, Israeli Maariv newspaper said on Sunday.
Over 60,000 settlers headed to "Eilat" in southeast-occupied Palestine, according to the Israeli newspaper.
Israeli media said "Israel" has run out of emergency hotel rooms to receive the fleeing settlers from northern occupied Palestine and Gaza's Envelope.
How many settlers fled their colonial outposts?
According to Israeli Channel 12, thousands of settlers were evacuated from different settlements.
From Northern-occupied Palestine
- "Kiryat Shmona" in northern occupied Palestine: 23,000 settlers have been evacuated.
- Settlements in close proximity to the separation wall/fence with Lebanon: 27,000 settlers have been evacuated.
- The total number of settlers evacuated from the North is 61,000
From Southern-occupied Palestine
- Settlements and kibbutzim in close proximity to the Gaza Strip: 17,000 settlers have been evacuated
- Settlements and kibbutzim located 4-7 km away from the Gaza Strip: 23,000 settlers have been evacuated.
- The total number of settlers evacuated from Gaza's Envelope is 40,000.
Israeli Channel 12's correspondent, Guy Varon, spoke to the head of the Israeli Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), who said that 120,000 settlers have been evacuated and transported by authorities so far.
Moreover, the correspondent confirmed, citing the head of NEMA, that the 23,000 settlers who were evacuated from "Kiryat Shmona" have taken up all the available emergency rooms. He also clarified that "Israel" only has 40,000 hotel rooms for evacuated settlers since the other 16,000 rooms lie in close proximity to either the Gaza Strip or Lebanon.
Varon said the evacuation of "Kiryat Shmona" is ongoing, indicating that the number of feeling settlers is expected to increase.
This comes as the Israeli occupation army issued an evacuation order for settlers residing in the "Kiryat Shmona" settlement, located around 2km away from the Palestinian-Lebanese borders, which are around 20,000, to "guesthouses" funded by the government.
Additionally, the occupation army added that the command in the northern region conveyed the decision to the settlement's mayor, who will take part in the execution phase.
But this announcement infuriated nearby settlements that, in contrast to "Kiryat Shmona", had to evacuate at their own expense.
Commenting on the army's statement, the head of the Upper al-Jalil Council - with only 5% percent of its settlers remaining - said in protest that while carrying out this measure at the expense of the government "is good", thousands of settlers from other areas had to fund their own evacuation.
Read more: 'Israel' discriminates between north settlements on evacuation funds
'Israel's' economy in disarray
As Israeli authorities struggle to find shelter for their fleeing settlers, another looming crisis has emerged. The Haifa Port, in occupied Haifa, has not received any foreign ships for several days, according to Kan's correspondent.
The Israeli correspondent said foreign vessels are lining up and are anchored outside of the port, adding that none of them have been received. She also added that Israeli occupation vessels are heavily patroling the port.
Furthermore, 100,000 workers from "Israel's" trade union are expected to take unpaid leaves this week.
On October 17, Maariv revealed that "the Israeli economy seems to have already started paying a high price for the war."
11 days after the beginning of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the newspaper noted that "Israel" has suffered significant losses on the human, military, and economic levels, and the repercussions are worsening.
The newspaper estimates that the Israeli economy has lost 4.6 billion shekels (more than 1 billion dollars) due to decreased productivity in Israeli institutions.
Officials have also noted that Gaza's Envelope requires more than $800 million if it were to be reconstructed.
Read more: Israeli media: the Israeli economy has lost roughly $1 bln
