Residents of the North to Knesset: Find Solution for Communities Farther Than 3.5 Km From Border

By Aryeh Stern

​Children and teenagers residing in northern Israel took part in Monday’s meeting of the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, chaired by MK Rabbi Yaakov Asher (United Torah Judaism), and pleaded with the MKs to find a solution for communities that are located more than 3.5 kilometers from the border and were not included in the government’s evacuation plan. The meeting centered on residents of northern communities who have chosen to evacuated their homes in light of the fighting along the border with Lebanon. “We are scared of the explosions; it is very difficult for us,” said a teenager from Moshav Avdon.

Kfar Vradim resident Yarden Gonen, the sister of Romi Gonen who is being held hostage in Gaza, said, “We left our home on Oct. 9 because of the tension that began to build up, and here we are in January already. I keep thinking about tomorrow, about the day my sister will be here. There is no way I am going back with her to Kfar Vradim. The residents of Kfar Vradim were not evacuated as part of a government resolution, but there are a number of artillery batteries there that are crushing it. Anyone who has experienced the current reality firsthand has to think about tomorrow.”

Mateh Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovitch, who also serves as chair of the Forum of Frontline Communities, said, “Government Resolution No. 975 authorized the defense minister to approve the evacuation of communities located up to 5 kilometers from the border. In practice, there is a back-and-forth between the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry, and the result is a huge mess that affects our residents. I am calling upon all the committee members and MKs – the whole issue of evacuees must be put in order. People are getting hurt, businesses have collapsed, farmers can’t work. We are at war, and we ask that the government not lose the north.”

Brig.-Gen. Reli Margalit said, “The IDF makes its recommendations after examining the matter through a military-security lens. There are, of course, civilian lenses that should be taken into account, but this is not the army’s job. The army recommended to evacuate communities located within 3.5 kilometers of the border. Any compensation that is granted to the residents of the north is welcome.”

Adi, a mother of two who chose to evacuated her home in the north, said, “Until Oct. 7, the Upper Galil was like one community, but since Oct. 7, we realized that 300 meters separate us from evacuation and protection. We realized that we were on our own and have zero seconds to reach a safe space in the event of an attack. Everything we had feared happened right before our eyes. We have no commerce, businesses are collapsing, people are with their children because the school day is short, and a couple of days ago an anti-tank missile with a range of up to 10 kilometers landed 300 meters from Kfar Szold, wounding a civilian who was permitted to be there. Do you want to tell me that you would bring your children to live there?”

Interior Ministry Director-General Ronen Peretz said the ministry’s job is to work in cooperation with the other government ministries and provide solutions for the residents of the north with regard to education, welfare, and more. “The Finance Ministry told me there was no budgetary problem. I have been holding discussions with the Finance Ministry about a compensation package, but I still do not know what it will include. There is no doubt that the situation in the north cannot remain as it is. We will provide solutions,” he said.

The debate was held at the initiative of MKs Tzvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism) and Tzvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit), who said, “I am not certain that anyone knows exactly how many residents were evacuated by the state and how many chose to evacuate. This population is an integral part of Israel’s security. I was certain that they would return home, but after meeting with eight representatives of the Upper Galil, I am very fearful that they will not. No one is providing a response for these residents, in terms of compensation, to enable them to return to their homes and continue to make the Galil bloom. The decision on the distance from the border is wrong.”