Many Israelis considering permanent departure — ex-PM Bennett

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned that the policies of the regime of Benjamin Netanyahu are pushing many Israelis to think about leaving Israel permanently.

In a statement on his X account on Friday, Bennett said that with the passing of months amid ongoing carnage in besieged Gaza and on the northern borders with Lebanon, Israelis are in despair due to the regime policies.

He also slammed the Israeli decision to continue exempting Haredi Jews from military service, saying: "Why is there an entire sector here (in Israel) that does not enlist."

"Why should I finance publics who do not go out to work?" Bennett added, referring to the Ultra-orthodox (Haredi) Jews.

The former premier also slammed the Israeli ministers who were busy quarrelling day and night with each other and insulting the Israeli army's commanders.

Bennett added that Netanyahu's current policies contributed to aggravating the crises in Israel instead of solving them.

According to Israeli figures, around 120,000 Israelis and illegal Zionist settlers have fled from northern Israel and areas around besieged Gaza since October 7 as a result of the Israeli war, and are living in hotels in different areas across Israel at the government's expense.

Reverse migration

Reverse migration has been a hot topic in Israel for years, with many wanting to leave for various reasons, including occupation of historic Palestine and resistance, various wars and scuffles with neighbouring nations, the economic situation and inequality.

In July, the Times of Israel reported that the number of Israelis, including illegal Zionist settlers, who left the region after October 7 permanently rose to a staggering 285 percent. A month before it, the newspaper said over half a million Israelis left since the start of Israel's carnage in Gaza.

As many as 80 percent of Israelis living outside Israel say they don't intend to return, according to a survey conducted by the Hebrew University at the initiative of the World Zionist Organization (WZO).

Israeli newspaper Haaretz said last month, citing a survey, that one in four Israelis would leave Israel for another country if given the opportunity.

The reports have caused concerns within Israel and the Palestinian areas it occupies that the reverse migration could cause further demographic and security dilemmas.

Settler violence at the heart of Gaza war

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israel war and has since then illegally stationed about 500,000 Zionist settlers there, many of them coming from Europe and Americas.

Besides the blockaded Gaza, where Israel's genocidal war is under way, Palestine seeks the West Bank and East Jerusalem — territories occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967 — for a completely independent country, a position that sees wide international support.

Nearly three million Palestinians reside in the occupied West Bank, with a significant number engaged in farming. However, farmers and shepherds, often residing in small, tranquil communities, are frequent targets of Zionist settler attacks, supported by Israeli police presence, exploiting their vulnerability.

At the heart of Tel Aviv's war on Gaza is also the settler violence in occupied West Bank.

Hamas resistance group says its October 7 blitz on Israel that surprised its arch-enemy was orchestrated in response to Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque, illegal settler violence in occupied West Bank and to put Palestine question "back on the table."

Israel has since then killed more than 40,000 Palestinians — mostly women, children and infants –– and wounded nearly 100,000, with 10,000+ feared buried under the debris of bombed homes.

Another 10,000 have been abducted by Israel and dumped in Israeli torture chambers. But experts and some studies say this is just a tip of an iceberg and the actual Palestinian death toll could be around 90,000 or even close to 190,000.

Almost all of Gaza's 2.4 million people have fled their homes. Severe hunger is widespread, and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.