Settlers don't feel safe after Oct.7, they're leaving: Israeli media
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Statistics show that thousands of Israeli settlers are leaving the occupied territories, disillusioned by the occupation entity's broken promises of being a "safe haven" for them.
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Travelers line up at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on September 2, 2024. (AP)
A report by the Jerusalem Post on Friday touched on the thousands of settlers leaving the occupied land since October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
According to government statistics and immigration tallies released by destination countries such as Canada and Germany, as cited by the Jerusalem Post, thousands of Israelis have left the occupied land since Oct. 7, 2023.
Statistics show concerns about a potential "brain drain" in sectors like medicine and technology, with migration experts suggesting that the number of people leaving "Israel" could exceed the number of immigrants to the occupied territories in 2024. This observation comes from Sergio DellaPergola, a statistician and professor emeritus at the Hebrew University in occupied al-Quds.
According to the Jerusalem Post, thousands of Israelis have chosen to bear the financial, emotional, and social costs of relocating since October 7 last year. Government statistics and families who spoke to The Associated Press in recent months reveal that many have emigrated to countries like Canada, Spain, and Australia.
The report adds that the Israeli settler population has speedily grown toward 10 million people, but by the end of 2024, the number of settlers leaving surpassed the ones coming in, further explaining that the numbers remain low even amid a potential ceasefire in Gaza and after the ceasefire with Lebanon.
Settler fear 'in numbers'
In September, "Israel's" Central Bureau of Statistics estimated that 40,600 Israelis left for long-term emigration during the first seven months of 2024, marking a 59% increase compared to the same period in 2023, when 25,500 people left. On the other hand, CBS reported that an additional 2,200 people emigrated each month this year compared to last.
As cited by the Jerusalem Post, the Israeli Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, which does not handle emigration matters, stated that over 33,000 people have moved to "Israel" since the war began, roughly in line with previous years.
Other signs also suggest a significant departure of Israelis since the war. Gil Fire, deputy director of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, noted that some of the hospital's top specialists, who had fellowship postings abroad for a few years, began to reconsider returning, according to the report.
“Before the war, they always came back and it was not really considered an option to stay. And during the war we started to see a change,” he said. “They said to us, ‘We will stay another year, maybe two years, maybe more.’”
Fire described it as "a concern" significant enough for him to plan in-person visits with these doctors to persuade them to return to "Israel".
