More than 200 Gazans who entered Israel with permits before October 7 and remained in the West Bank and Israel throughout the war have surrendered to IDF forces in recent weeks to be returned to Gaza, according to an Army Radio report. This week alone, 46 surrendered at a crossing in Samaria. The security establishment assesses the voluntary surrenders stem from the cessation of economic support from Palestinians in the West Bank.
An Army Radio report sheds light on a little-known phenomenon: hundreds of Gazans who entered Israel legally before the October 7 massacre and remained in the West Bank and Israel throughout the war are now voluntarily surrendering to IDF forces to be returned to the Gaza Strip. According to the report, more than 200 have done so in recent weeks, with a single group of 46 surrendering this week at a crossing in Samaria. The security establishment estimates that the catalyst is the drying up of financial and social support these Gazans had been receiving from Palestinians in the West Bank during the war. Once that support ceased, the Gazans sought to return home. The IDF has been processing the surrenders by returning them to the Strip. The exact number of Gazans still in Israel and the West Bank is unknown, with estimates ranging from hundreds to thousands. Earlier efforts to locate and expel them were halted long ago, the report notes. The report was filed by Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio).
2 developments
Source and signal
- Internal intake