65,000 Settlers Evacuate from Northern Order: Israeli Media

By Al Mayadeen English

Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the Israeli government evacuated 65,000 settlers from the northern border of occupied Palestine.

Israeli Channel 12 stated that the decision regarding the evacuation of the remaining settlers had not been made, noting that "most of them had left voluntarily, financing the evacuation costs themselves without state assistance."

This statement coincides with remarks made by Yossi Yehoshua, a military affairs analyst in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, who stated, "Returning to Metula and Shtula is not feasible as long as Hezbollah is present."

He emphasized that the northern region is a "confluence of numerous forces with few settlers," adding that, "Nasrallah is closely monitoring and listening to developments here, making it difficult to conclude this conflict as long as the Radwan unit remains on the front lines."

As evidence of the doubt surrounding the settlers' return to the north, Benny Gantz toured the "Mabuot" Hermon Regional Council and stated, "Our victory will be when the residents of Pieri and Metula can return to their homes, with the assurance of safety and protection."

This comes after Israeli media sources confirmed that the relocation of at least 125,000 settlers from settlements in southern and northern occupied Palestine was underway. 

Israeli media have previously highlighted the frustration felt by Israeli settlers in the north of occupied Palestine after they were forced to vacate their settlements following their shelling by the Lebanese Resistance.

Israeli Channel 12 noted that settlements up to 5 km away from Lebanon’s southern borders were vacated, clarifying that nearly 60,000 settlers evacuated from the north, 20,000 of whom reside in “Kiryat Shmona”.

The Israeli channel also mentioned that the evacuations took place “without prior planning,” further adding that “if the war should end today, not many would hasten to return to the North.”

On that note, earlier this month, the Israeli emergency authority and occupation army added 14 northern settlements within 5km from the Lebanese border to the evacuation plan funded by the government, following approval from Security Minister Yoav Gallant.

This comes as Hezbollah is increasing its operations targeting Israeli military bases and outposts located on occupied Lebanese lands in support of Gaza, which is witnessing daily Israeli massacres.