Gaza envelope settlements (Al Jazeera)

In an attempt to restore life to the Gaza Strip settlements, a special Israeli government team is scheduled to hold a meeting this evening to develop a plan to gradually return the residents of those settlements. The plan will be presented to the heads of the municipal councils of the Strip towns.

Israeli media reported, citing an unnamed informed Israeli official, that the plan stipulates starting by returning residents of towns 4 to 7 kilometers from the borders of the Gaza Strip and residents of other towns whose homes were not demolished or damaged.

According to the plan, funding for the hotel accommodation of residents of the Gaza envelope settlements will be stopped until the end of next March and they will be given financial support to encourage them to return.

High costs

The Israeli government had taken a decision to evacuate all 25 kibbutzim and settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, following the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle carried out by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7, 2023.

Pursuant to the decision taken under emergency regulations, the area located 0 to 7 kilometers from the Gaza Strip border was evacuated, and the number of those evacuated reached 65 thousand people.

Tens of thousands of residents of the Western Negev, Sderot, and Ashkelon were also displaced on their own initiative and without instructions from the Home Front requiring them to do so, as the population of this area close to the enclave is more than 200,000.

According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the cost of a family of 6 staying in a hotel room reached approximately 45,000 shekels ($12,000) per month, while a family with two children received allowances worth 18,000 shekels ($4,800) per month if they were not residents. in hotel.

Government endeavors

In an attempt by Benjamin Netanyahu's government to return the residents of the cover settlements, it decided last month to provide a financial grant to the residents who would agree to return, which they called an adaptation grant (the value of which was not mentioned), while those who refuse to return will be able to continue to stay in hotels in central Israel.

This prompted the head of a settlement council in southern Israel to accuse the government of trying to bribe residents with financial grants, in exchange for returning to the settlements surrounding Gaza, which are still being subjected to missile attacks from the Strip.

He said that the Israeli government is returning residents to last October 6 (the prevailing situation before the war) and abandoning their personal security, noting that the government was unable to remove the security threat, or provide a major security response to the towns in the region.

Which prompted the Israeli army and Ministry of Defense to announce the distribution of weapons and logistical combat equipment in 70 towns around the Gaza Strip, according to what was reported by the Israeli Channel 12.

Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are expected to ratify this matter after discussion by government staff.

On the other hand, the commander of the Israeli army’s home front, Rafi Milo, acknowledged the existence of a deep crisis of confidence with the residents of the Gaza envelope, stressing Israel’s failure on October 7. Milo added that the time will come to conduct an investigation, and without returning the residents to their homes, there will be no victory.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies