Settlers shelter instead of celebrating 'Purim': Israeli media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
25 Mar 2024 13:36
2 Shares

The usual festive atmosphere of the so-called "Purim" holiday is notably absent in the northern settlements of occupied Palestine, as per Israeli media.

An Israeli soldier stands near occupied Palestinian territories along the border with Lebanon, on July 23, 2020. (AFP)

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth confirmed that the atmosphere of the so-called "Purim" holiday is absent from the northern settlements of occupied Palestine.

The newspaper explained that the settlements there are "without basic services," affirming that the "North has been abandoned," by the Israeli military.

The newspaper also pointed out that "all that has been reached is an agreement with the Israeli Ministry regarding the construction of about 1000 safe rooms in the Shlomi settlement."

In turn, Rafael Naveh, CEO of the "Hermon Sky Slopes", said, "A year ago, we celebrated a festive Purim event with thousands of visitors, and unfortunately this year the site remained deserted."

Israeli regional official: Hezbollah created crisis for years to come

Expressing frustration and discontent from the Israeli government, the head of the so-called Israeli Supreme Upper al-Jalil Regional Council, Giora Zaltz, told Israeli radio channel FM103 on Sunday, "We feel abandoned and this is a reality that cannot be accepted."

Zaltz made the remarks following a large-scale rocket launching operation conducted by the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon toward the occupied Golan Heights on Sunday dawn.

He warned of an impending crisis that might occur in Israeli-occupied northern territories "for years to come," while lambasting the Israeli government for its inadequate military and security measures in the region.

"Even their promises have not been implemented, and still, life continues as if everything is normal," Zaltz said, as the Northern Front with Lebanon heats up.

He said that Hezbollah is the "strongest, largest, and most dangerous challenge" to "Israel", adding that northern occupied territories cannot be treated as a secondary priority.

"Fifty missiles fired toward the north, the Hula Valley, and the Golan Heights, and we continue as if everything is normal," he said, adding that the government "must stop treating the north as a peripheral event and we must take action."

On Saturday, Israeli Reserve Colonel Kobi Marom said that the Israeli war cabinet lost the North, adding that "Israel" is adding that the occupying regime is facing a strategic problem and a long war of attrition.

"As a resident of the north, I believe that the cabinet has lost the north. There is a strategic problem here and a war of attrition that has been going on for months, with no solution in sight," Marom told the Israeli broadcaster Channel 13.

"I believe that the political measures taken by the government and the activation of fire by the Israeli army do not provide the conditions to bring back the 70,000 who have been displaced from their homes," stressing that "the cabinet has not taken care of the north and has not made a decision on the goal," as in, to remove the "threat" of Hezbollah.